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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Poterack Vs. Tucker — Uh, Sort Of . . .

Jeff Ostrowski · May 20, 2013

OOKING BACK at my college career, one of the most interesting classes I attended involved two professors standing in front of a class full of undergraduates and . . . arguing. That’s right: arguing! It turns out the professors were actually the best of friends (the students did not know this initially), and this method of teaching was incredibly effective. Not only did it convey subject matter, but it demonstrated how to actually have an argument. I think I’ve met a grand total of 5-6 people who actually understand how to conduct a true argument. Most people do not. But that’s another story . . .

Getting back to the point at hand, I was reminded of those two professors when I recently came across an exchange between Dr. Kurt Poterack (former editor, Sacred Music Journal) and Jeffrey Tucker (current editor, Sacred Music Journal). Here’s the exchange:

      * *  1999 Exchange Between Dr. Kurt Poterack & Jeffrey Tucker [pdf]

Anyone who’s ever been to a Colloquium knows that Kurt and Jeff are very close (personally) which makes the exchange that much more interesting. I’m not going to say who’s right or wrong. To do that, I’d have to see the original Latin Mass Magazine piece mentioned by Dr. Poterack.

So why am I bringing all this stuff up?

I’m glad you asked. The reason is due to Dr. Poterack’s comment:

Though I am somewhat loath to criticize a fellow liturgical conservative, I must say that his criticism of the Adoremus Hymnal is off target. Put briefly, he seems to dislike it because it is not the Liber Usualis and not Tridentine.

How many times has Watershed’s Vatican II Hymnal [url] been taken to task for the same reason! Just like Dr. Poterack says, so many people fail to understand what our book is. It is a book for the congregation, not a book for the choir. No matter how many times I try to get this point across, it never seems to “stick.” The Vatican II Hymnal was never meant to replace the Liber Usualis.

(Let me say once more, I’m not sure if Dr. Poterack’s criticism is fair, since I haven’t read Tucker’s original piece. That’s not the point.)

By the way, Dr. Poterack published a lot of really interesting things in those old journals. Here’s a sample:

The Sacred Congregation of Rites and the Consilium issued a joint statement on December 29,1966 prohibiting profane music in church. When Consilium spokesman Monsignor Annibale Bugnini was asked at a press conference what was meant by “profane” music, he said that this referred to such things as “jazz” Masses and instruments such as the guitar.

That’s taken from a big article he wrote in the Winter 1998 edition of Sacred Music.

I won’t go on giving examples, but permit me just one more, taken from 128-1:

I recommend reading this 1964 commentary by Msgr. McManus, because in it is revealed — less than a year after the Liturgy Constitution was passed — the quirky, ideological way in which the liturgy establishment intended to interpret article 36 of the constitution.
   After the gratuitous slam on Latin, notice what Msgr. McManus says next: “Although it is not the original language of the Roman rite by any means, the Latin language is here acknowledged to have the first or principal place, and as such it is to be retained. It may be that in some areas the retention will simply mean employing the Latin texts as the basis for translating into the vernacular, at least in the case of those parts of the Roman rite which are themselves original, such as the collects.”
   Did you get that? In “some areas” (he means the United States, not Kenya) the “retention of Latin” will not mean the retention of Latin, and this total vernacularization will only in some cases use the original Latin as “the basis for translations.” What is particularly funny about the last sentence is that the Calvinist-leaning Archbishop Cranmer showed far more respect and sensitivity to the original Latin collects in the English translations he did for the 16th-century Anglican Book of Common Prayer than ICEL ended up showing in the 1970 Roman Catholic Sacramentary.

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The representative Protestant collection, entitled “Hymns, Ancient and Modern”—in substance a compromise between the various sections of conflicting religious thought in the Establishment—is a typical instance. That collection is indebted to Catholic writers for a large fractional part of its contents. If the hymns be estimated which are taken from Catholic sources, directly or imitatively, the greater and more valuable part of its contents owes its origin to the Church.

— Orby Shipley (1884)

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