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Views from the Choir Loft

GABC Transcription Tools

Veronica Brandt · June 8, 2013


AST WEEK I wrote about gregorio and GABC. There are so many developments happening that I’m sure I will be writing more about the system.

This week Benjamin Bloomfield released a new Propers Tool for his collection of GABC transcription tools.

That makes four tools:
Hymns
Psalm tones
Readings
and new this week: Propers!

Not so long ago, I would transcribe by hand from the Propers of the Church year set to tones (1962 Missal) from Guam (it’s a great book, but quite hard to read). Then, once I found the transcriber, I would get the text of the propers from Maternal Heart and cut and paste the text into the Psalm tone tool, select a mode and repeat for each antiphon. Now the new Propers Tool makes it as easy as choosing the Sunday from a drop down list. You can even select which ones to render with the full melody from the Graduale. The psalm toned Alleluia is rendered as in the simplified Alleluias in the back of the Liber Brevior, with the full jubilus and psalm toned verse.

Clicking the PDF link in the top right corner takes you over to Illuminare Publications Score Editor (also written by Mr. Bloomfield) with all five pieces ready to process into a single PDF.

One drawback is that there is no space for a translation, but there are a few ways you could add it in. There is a capability to insert text under the lyrics by enclosing the text in square brackets and inserting it between the syllable and the neume code.

Something like this: A[Humbly I adore thee](c)do(e)ro(g) te(g)
(Yes, that’s probably confusing, but may be helpful to some, otherwise there’s the comments box down there)

As is often the case with cutting edge software, the documentation is lagging behind a little, but there is good news there too. Gregowiki promises to be a treasure trove of helpful information. Already it has links to the tools I’ve already mentioned as well as tutorials and a handy cheat sheet.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Gregorian Chant Software, Gregorio Last Updated: May 14, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“…it would be a very praiseworthy thing and the correction would be so easy to make that one could accommodate the chant by gradual changes; and through this it would not lose its original form, since it is only through the binding together of many notes put under short syllables that they become long without any good purpose when it would be sufficient to give one note only.”

— Zarlino (1558) anticipating the Medicæa

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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