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Views from the Choir Loft

The Pius X Hymnal by Dr. Theodore Marier

Jeff Ostrowski · March 29, 2013

R. THEODORE MARIER is a man I highly revere. I first heard his name mentioned by my friend David Hughes more than a decade ago. I recently paid a lot of money to obtain one of his first major productions, long out of print, called The Pius X Hymnal (McLaughlin & Reilly Co., Boston, Mass., 1953). But I am sorry to admit it was a huge disappointment.

UPDATE:   The choir, organist & congregational versions can now be freely download here.

Readers will probably recall that I have often written about an inexcusable flaw of many early Catholic hymnals: viz. their failure to list the TUNE NAME. Since I have written about this so many times, in long articles that painstakingly explain all the reasons this defect is unpardonable, I will not “shoot my mouth off” here. Suffice it to say, Ted Marier does not list the TUNE NAMES in The Pius X Hymnal. So, for instance, when Dr. Marier uses the hymn tune STUTTGART, he neglects to list the name of the melody. Nor does he do so in the indices. Not good, my friends.

I am also unhappy with other things. The ranges seem to me, on occasion, to be placed way too high. The entire book seems to be a hodgepodge of polyphony, simple chants, complex chants, and congregational tunes. As Bill Watterson said in his Calvin and Hobbes Cartoon: “A good compromise leaves everybody unhappy.” In other words, seeking to please everybody, the results end up pleasing nobody. As an editor, I can attest that it’s quite easy to create a book with lots of stuff inside. However, creating a book containing only those things useful for a particular group (choir, organist, congregation, etc.) is a much harder task.

One last point (and this was also pointed out by many people who reviewed this book in the 1950s): so few congregational hymns were included in this book . . . and many of those included lack inspiration.

In conclusion, although I have tremendous respect for Dr. Theodore Marier, I expected a lot more from this book based on its “reputation.” I hope my honest observations do not offend anyone, but I’ve learned that pretty much everything I write will offend somebody so I guess I should get used to it.

      * *  Click here to learn more about the Campion Hymnal

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The authority of the Pope is not unlimited. It is at the service of Sacred Tradition. Still less is any kind of general ‘freedom’ of manufacture, degenerating into spontaneous improvisation, compatible with the essence of faith and liturgy. The greatness of the liturgy depends—we shall have to repeat this frequently—on its lack of spontaneity.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (2000)

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