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Views from the Choir Loft

Ordo Cantus Missae — English Translations

Jeff Ostrowski · July 29, 2013

UPDATE:

Download the complete Ordo Cantus Missae here in PDF.

599 Ordo Cantus Missae IMAGE Click to enlarge image NE FACTOR standing in the way of authentic liturgical reform had to do with the books. Many books were printed only in Latin, but the people who should have understood that language no longer did. However, I will speak more about this problem at another time. The reason I brought it up should become obvious as you read on.

The Lalemant Propers were recently given official approval for liturgical use by the bishop of the diocese where they were published. While the bishop’s approval was not technically required by current Ecclesiastical law, this approval is yet another positive encouragement and reminder that we ought to be singing the Propers at Mass (under normal circumstances) and not replacing them with something else.

UPDATE:

Download the complete Ordo Cantus Missae here in PDF.

HE LALEMANT PROPERS correspond to the Novus Ordo (“Ordinary Form”), so they follow the ORDO CANTUS MISSAE, just like the Simple English Propers.
Now . . . what the heck is the Ordo Cantus Missæ?

The Ordo Cantus Missæ is a book published in 1970 which assigns all the Mass Propers to the new (Novus Ordo) calendar. Most of the Propers for the Sundays stayed the same as they were in the 1962 Missale Romanum. In other words, it usually just “points” the user to various Sundays from the old calendar (found in Pothier’s 1908 Graduale).

First, let me give you the documents, and then I’ll make some observations:

* *  Prænotandum Ordo Cantus Missæ (Latin version)

* *  Prænotandum Ordo Cantus Missæ (as found in the 1974 Graduale)

Here are three (3) different English translations:

* *  Prænotandum Ordo Cantus Missæ (English Translation by Canon George Davey)

* *  Prænotandum Ordo Cantus Missæ (English Translation by Richard Chonak)

* *  Prænotandum Ordo Cantus Missæ (English Translation posted by Dr. Paul Ford)

To make life easy, you can also download this:

* *  Several Articles talking about the Ordo Cantus Missæ

NLESS YOU ARE A SUPER GENIUS, it will probably be necessary to read the above documents several times to fully understand them. Here are two observations that seem worth stressing:


1. Notice the footnote in the 1974 Graduale published by Solesmes, giving justification for why they omitted the so-called neo-Gregorian Communion antiphons:

“Illæ melodiæ in hac editione privata omittuntur.”
(These melodies have been omitted in this book, which is a private edition.)

Most folks don’t realize that the 1974 Solesmes Graduale is a private edition. The Ordo Cantus Missæ is the official post-Conciliar book. This reminds me of how most people fail to realize that the 1908 Editio Vaticana was not created by Solesmes. People like myself and Jean-Pierre Noiseaux have been stressing this (in vain) for more than a decade. In any event, the so-called neo-Gregorian Communions can still be sung, but Solesmes didn’t want to encourage their use, so they left them out. Pretty sneaky, if you ask me.


2. Notice, too, what the Ordo Cantus Missæ says about the Gloria (below are three different English translations):

“The hymn Gloria in excelsis is begun by the priest, or, if appropriate, by a cantor. It is presented either by a cantor and choir in alternation, or by two choirs responding to one another.”

“The hymn, Gloria in excelsis Deo, is intoned by the priest or by the cantor, if that is convenient. It is continued alternately by the cantors and the choir or by two choirs alternating.”

“The hymn Gloria in excelsis is intoned by the priest or, if more convenient, by the cantor. It is sung either by cantors and choir alternating or by two choirs antiphonally.”

The Ordo Cantus Missæ, then, has absolutely no preference as to whether the priest ought to intone the Glory to God. Since there is no preference, it seems best to follow the long-standing tradition of the Church, wherein the priest alone intones the Gloria. For centuries, this has been done (although some Mozart Masses seem not to respect this tradition).

By the way, all of the Mass settings in English I have composed for the New Translation can be intoned by the Celebrant. The video on the right comes from my St. Edmund Arrowsmith Mass Setting.

This article is part of a series:

Part 1   •   Part 2

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Bugnini ORDO CANTUS MISSAE, Ordinary Form Ordo Cantus Missæ, Ordo Cantus Missae, ORDO CANTUS MISSAE NOVUS ORDO Last Updated: September 29, 2023

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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

    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
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —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

Yet, with all its advantages, the new Missal was published as if it were a work put together by professors, not a phase in a continual growth process. Such a thing never happened before. It is absolutely contrary to the laws of liturgical growth, and it has resulted in the nonsensical notion that Trent and Pius V had “produced” a Missal four hundred years ago.

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (1986)

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