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Views from the Choir Loft

Antiphons for the Dog Days of Ordinary Time

Andrew R. Motyka · August 14, 2013

WO WEEKS AGO, I attended the NPM National Convention in Washington, D.C. Despite some of the odd liturgical theatrics that have been hogging all the headlines since then, I found it to be an optimistic experience.

What makes me most hopeful for the future of American liturgical music was the renewed interest in the antiphons, from the basic “What are these antiphons in the new Missal?” questions being answered, to the closer looks at musical settings. There is a long way to go in our renewal, but even ten years ago ignorance of the very existence of these things we call antiphons would have been the norm.

What makes the renewed interest even more hopeful is that the publishers are getting on board with this movement, publishing several new settings of antiphons that I was able to browse while I was there. Normally, this kind of commercialization annoys me, but in this case I think it is a good thing. It shows that the publishers, too, are coming along for the ride.

Maybe it’s because the interest is so new, or maybe because it’s the logical place to begin, but I noticed that I have 30 or more vernacular settings of the propers for Advent, but I can count on one hand how many settings of the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time I have seen. Many composers start with Advent, since it is the beginning of the year, or with one of the seasons, but few ever even get to the ordinal Sundays of the Year.

Several years ago, as I was tiring of using the rotation of Eucharistic hymns in the hymnal my parish owned, I started composing vernacular settings of the Communios in the Graduale Romanum. Couple these with the psalms listed in the Gradual, and you have yourself a serviceable amount of processional music. Inspired by the phenomenal work being done on the Chabanel Psalms by my colleague here, Jeff Ostrowski, I started posting them online at the site:

LAUDATE DOMINUM COMMUNION ANTIPHONS

(That’s the ridiculously memorable domain “communionantiphons.org,” by the way.)

They’re free, and they include all Sundays of the three-year liturgical cycle, with accompaniments and practice recordings. They are compatible with the Gregorian Communios of the Gradual, and can be used in conjunction with them or singularly as Communion processionals. Have a look, and use some new music, with texts assigned by the Church, during these Dog Days of Ordinary Time.

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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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
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

From Chelan, Washington: “CCWatershed is a God-sent resource that I can’t function without! Such great work by the team to bring beauty back to our liturgy!” From Gainesville, Florida: “I am so appreciative of the work, of my brothers and sisters in music!” From Troutman, North Carolina: “Keep up the excellent work in service of the Liturgy!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The representative Protestant collection, entitled “Hymns, Ancient and Modern”—in substance a compromise between the various sections of conflicting religious thought in the Establishment—is a typical instance. That collection is indebted to Catholic writers for a large fractional part of its contents. If the hymns be estimated which are taken from Catholic sources, directly or imitatively, the greater and more valuable part of its contents owes its origin to the Church.

— Orby Shipley (1884)

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