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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

How To Chant The Readings At Mass

Corpus Christi Watershed · May 27, 2013

THE FOLLOWING VIDEO takes you step-by-step through the process of chanting the Gospel in English. Deacons might find this video useful, since many are called upon to sing the Gospel.


The video requires you to download:

      1.  A Score Illustrating Different Tones [pdf]

      2.  Instructions on this tone in Latin & English [pdf]

HE FIRST READING at Mass is often sung to the “Prophecy Tone,” which was reserved for the Old Testament Lessons in the Extraordinary Form. Here is a PDF document that explains how to do it:

How to chant the 1st Reading in English & Latin

The Second Reading is often sung to the tone that was used for the Epistle in the Extraordinary Form. This PDF document explains how to do it:

How to chant the 2nd Reading in English & Latin

My favorite Gospel tone is called “more ancient” by the Solesmes books:

Singing the Gospel in English & Latin (ANCIENT TONE)

Here is what some people the “more recent” tone for the Gospel:

How to chant the Gospel in English & Latin (SIMPLE TONE)

By the way, all the parts of the Mass are sung according to the “Toni Communes” in the 1974 Graduale by Solesmes. Generally speaking, these are identical to what Abbot Pothier published as the Editio Vaticana around 1908.

N.B. For these, I have borrowed from the work of Professor W. A. Jurgens (Saint Mary Seminary, Cleveland).

How does a priest know how to correctly chant the readings (1st Reading, 2nd Reading, & Gospel) using the Prophecy tone, the Epistle tone, and different versions of the Gospel tones (according to the rules in the Liber Usualis) in ENGLISH ?

Examples (written out) of the different tones for chanting (PDF)

Mp3 Audio Recordings of the different tones:

01 Galatians Chapter 5
02 Gospel (John 15)
03 Wisdom Chapter 3
04 Thessalonains Chapter 4
05 Gospel (John 11)
06 Romans Chapter 8
07 Gospel (John 19)
08 Exodus Chapter 34
09 II Corinthians Chapter 13
10 Gospel (John 3)

Written out examples of chanting the readings at Mass, with free MP3 recordings

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Chanting the Readings in English Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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President’s Corner

    “Lamb of God” (Musical Setting)
    The MASS OF SAINT ANNE LINE has been quite popular ever since ROMAN MISSAL Third Edition was released circa 2011. You can now download the musical score (PDF) for this setting, placed into five (5) different keys; i.e. “pitch levels” that are high and low. This makes it possible to adjust based upon who’s singing at which time of day.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Introit (2nd Sn. Ord.)
    This coming Sunday, 18 January 2026, is the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). The ENTRANCE CHANT is set according to the fourth mode, which sounds ‘serious’ or ‘dark’ or ‘haunting’ or ‘mysterious’—and its English adaptation corresponds to the authentic version (“Omnis terra adóret”) found in the GRADUALE ROMANUM. In this rehearsal video (click here) I attempt to sing the melody while simultaneously accompanying myself on the organ. I encourage you to print off the organ accompaniment (PDF) and play through it, because the harmonies are delightful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Spectacular Communion Setting!
    The FAUXBOURDON setting of the Communion for the Baptism of the Lord (which will occur this coming Sunday) strikes me as quite spectacular. The verses—composed by the fifth century Christian poet, Coelius Sedulius—come from a long alphabetical acrostic and are deservedly famous. The feast of the LORD’S BAPTISM was traditionally the octave day of Epiphany, but in the 1962 kalendar it was made ‘more explicit’ or emphasized. The 1970 MISSALE ROMANUM elevated this feast even further.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Reminder” — Month of January (2026)
    On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)
    I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “In Paradisum” in English
    We always sing the IN PARADISUM in Latin, as printed on this PDF score. I have an appallingly bad memory (meaning I’d be a horrible witness in court). In any event, it’s been brought to my attention that 15 years ago I created this organ accompaniment for the famous and beautiful ‘IN PARADISUM’ Gregorian chant sung in English according to ‘MR3’ (Roman Missal, Third Edition). If anyone desires such a thing, feel free to download and print. Looking back, I wish I’d brought the TENOR and BASS voices into a unison (on B-Natural) for the word “welcome” on the second line.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Using the shoddiest, sleaziest material we have for the purpose of glorifying God is not very sound theology or even very good common sense. […] (In general, when you see a diminished seventh chord in a hymn, run.) And these chords are usually used in bad hymns in precisely the same order in which they occur in “Sweet Adeline.”

— Paul Hume (1956)

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