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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Story Behind The Code

Guest Author · June 10, 2013

The following is a guest article by Benjamin Bloomfield.

COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, when my brother found out that I had written a tool for applying psalm tones to arbitrary Latin texts, he suggested to me that I write a similar tool to work with the traditional Latin Mass propers, so that anyone could easily sing psalm-toned propers if (and only if*) they didn’t have sufficient time to practice the proper propers.

I remember thinking at the time that it was very easy for my brother to suggest such a tool, but it would be quite a bit of work for me to actually write it. For about a month, I would occasionally think about how I might be able to get the texts for the propers for every Sunday of the year from divinumofficium.com and then look up all the proper chants based on the beginnings of the texts at gregobase.selapa.net. Eventually I did try my hand at it, and what I have come up with is at a point where it is good enough to share with the public.

In its current form, you can select a Sunday (or several other feasts, of which there are still a few that I need to add; you can also select the wedding or funeral propers) and it will populate fields for Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, etc. Then you can select whether to use the full tone or a psalm tone for each proper. You can get a PDF of everything by clicking the link in the upper right.

You can click on the titles (Introitus, Graduale, etc.) to go to that chant’s page at gregobase.selapa.net and see the chant next to images of it scanned from the Liber Usualis or Graduale Romanum so that you can proofread it and make sure there are no mistakes in the newly typeset version. I have already noticed and corrected several mistakes in both text and melody, so this is certainly a good idea.

Also, I should make it clear that thanks are due to Andrew Hinkley for having transcribed all of these chants, and to Olivier Berten for setting up and maintaining them all at gregobase.selapa.net where they can be proofread. Without their work, I never would have been able to write this.

* As it says in the liber brevior in the section with psalm-toned graduals and alleluias:

These abridged chants are intended exclusively for churches where it is not possible to properly execute all the melodies of the Roman Gradual and for which a simple melody of the Sacred Texts is tolerated (S. C. R. N° 3697). Where there are Choirs sufficiently trained, the official Chant of the Gradual must be kept.

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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Quick Thoughts

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I vividly remember going to church with him in Bournemouth. He was a devout Roman Catholic and it was soon after the Church had changed the liturgy (from Latin to English). My grandfather obviously didn’t agree with this and made all the responses very loudly in Latin while the rest of the congregation answered in English. I found the whole experience quite excruciating, but my grandfather was oblivious. He simply had to do what he believed to be right.”

— Simon Tolkien (2003)

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