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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

An FYI on EP in the OF – Part 1

Andrew R. Motyka · May 22, 2013

For the series Introduction, please click HERE.

ast week, we outlined the structure of Evening Prayer. This week, we will take a closer look at the first few elements of the liturgy, We will focus in on the introduction, hymn, and psalmody, which makes up the heart of the Liturgy of the Hours.

The introduction, along with most other elements of the liturgy, follows a dialogue “call-and-response” format. The leader begins with O God, come to my assistance, and all respond Lord, make haste to help me, while all make the sign of the cross. The leader begins Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, and all respond As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. The prayer “Glory be to the Father…” is known as the doxology, and is used many times during Evening Prayer. You might notice that it is phrased slightly differently than you might be used to. This is simply because of the translation of the Gloria Patri provided in book of Christian Prayer. It is essentially the same as the doxology you might already know. Also, during the Easter Season, the “Amen” at the end of the doxology is followed by an “Alleluia.” Simple musical settings of this introduction can be found in many modern hymnals.

The hymn then follows. I will not use this space to discuss the appropriateness of hymnody in the Mass, but I will point out that the Liturgy of the Hours is the most appropriate place for hymns. It is at this moment in Evening Prayer that the hymn belongs.

The purpose of the hymn is to set the tone for the hour or the feast and, especially in celebrations with a congregation, to form a simple and pleasant introduction to prayer. (General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours #42)

Select a hymn for the liturgy much in the same way you would prepare a hymn for the Mass. On a side note the General Instruction has much stricter words for the selection of hymns compared to instruction for the Roman Missal: “Great care must be taken not to allow popular songs that have no artistic merit and are not in keeping with the dignity of the liturgy. (178)” For my money, however, some of the best English hymn texts can be found in the Mundelein Psalter. This is especially true on Feasts and Solemnities. They are usually set common hymn meters (Long Meter seems to be a favorite), and have some truly excellent texts for the feasts. For example, the upcoming feast of the Visitation (May 31) contains this verse, among others:

Enriched by Holy Spirit’s gift,
Come, Mother of the hidden Christ,
And visit us as once you came
And gladdened John who leapt for joy.

Following the hymn is the Psalmody portion of Evening Prayer. There are three “psalms” (in quotes because they are not always psalms) which follow a similar format for each. In Evening prayer, the first two are actual psalms (although sometimes they are simply one longer psalm broken into two smaller parts), and the third is a Canticle, which is a Biblical song that is not a Psalm. The psalms typically contain these elements:

Antiphon
Psalm
Doxology
Psalm Prayer (optional)
Repeat Antiphon

There are several things to note here. First, every psalm has an antiphon that corresponds to it, and doxology is added to the end of the psalm as if it were a last verse. The Psalm Prayer is only optionally recited by a leader; it can be omitted (and doesn’t even occur in many countries outside the US). There are lots of options for the psalms. The psalm can be sung responsorially, antiphonally, or straight through (in directum).

If you choose to sing them responsorially, you would sing the psalm much in the same way you do at Mass, with the antiphon being used as a “refrain” between each verse. While not the traditional way to sing the psalms at Evening Prayer, this can be a good way to get the people to engage in the text if you cannot put the whole psalm in your worship aid.

Singing the psalms antiphonally is the most traditional way to sing this liturgy in common. This means that the antiphon is sung, either by the leader or all, to begin the psalm, and then the psalm verses are taken up by the people, in alternation, usually by groups. You can do this by dividing the group between men and women, or even more effectively by “sides” of the church. One side intones one verse, and the other side sings the next verse. Again, a wonderful example of this is provided in the Mundelein Psalter, mentioned above, which contains very simple psalm tones that can be taken up by all easily. The benefit to this method is that it puts the entire psalm text in the mouths of the faithful.

The psalms can also be sung straight through, if you have a setting of them. A metrical psalm is an option here, such as the Old Hundredth. The strength to this approach is that you can use a hymn tune that everyone knows. The weakness is that metrical psalms are paraphrases and frequently some sense of the text is lost. It is an option, though.

These suggestions are very basic. There are many other possibilities not explored here, and I would love it if people shared their own experiences in the comments. Next week, we will continue our brief walkthrough of Evening Prayer, delving into the reading and responsory.

For the second part of this series, please click HERE.

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 Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
    Various shell corporations (in an effort to make money selling Sacred Scripture) have tinkered with the LECTIONARY texts in a way that’s shameful. It’s no wonder Catholics in the pews know so few Bible passages by heart. Without authorization, these shell corporations pervert the official texts. Consider the Responsorial Psalm for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year A). If you download this PDF comparison chart you’ll notice each country randomly omits certain sections. Such tinkering has gone on for 60+ years—and it’s reprehensible.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

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 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 creed at baptism may be said in either Greek or Latin, at the convert’s discretion, according to the Gelasian Sacramentary.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue

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