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Views from the Choir Loft

Singing Propers and Ordinary . . . at Low Mass?

Jeff Ostrowski · August 19, 2013

955 Conception Abbey ODAY, I’LL BE SHARING a September 1937 article by Dom Gregory Hügle, O.S.B., one of the most important promoters of Gregorian chant in the early part of the 20th century.

      * *  1937 Article (Dom Gregory Hügle, OSB)

Now that I’ve shared the document, I shall make a few observations about this section:

Q. “Is it permitted to sing any part or all of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) at a Low Mass?

A. Yes, it is permitted to sing the parts mentioned in Latin. With regard to the Gloria the Roman decision remarks “that the intonation should be sung by the choir”.

Q. “Is it permitted to sing the same parts in English at a Low Mass?”

A. No, it is not permitted to sing these parts in the vernacular. Holy Church demands that the liturgical parts be sung in the liturgical language, which is “Latin”.

Q. “Is it permitted to sing any or all of the variable chants of the Proper (Introit, Gradual, Allelttia, Offertory, Communion) in Latin, at a Low Mass in English?”

A. Any parts of the Proper may be sung in Latin, but not in English, for the reason mentioned above. Low Mass is a liturgical function. If you select parts of the liturgical musical belonging to Holy Mass, the same must be sung in Latin.

This information, given in 1937 by Dom Hügle, is not generally known by those who celebrate the Extraordinary Form. As a matter of fact, it contradicts what many authorities say. Perhaps an expert of ceremonies can explain why in the combox.

Speaking of “odd” practices of the EF, I’ve mentioned elsewhere that the 1958 Instruction of Pope Pius XII allows the entire congregation to recite all the Propers (in Latin) along with the Celebrant. (!) This is never done. I doubt it ever was done, although a later publication, the New St. Joseph Sunday Missal and Hymnal (1966), tried to encourage this practice.

Dom Gregory’s words about the Gloria intonation are interesting. In my article, “Who should intone the Gloria at Mass?”, I mentioned that cantors were given permission to intone the Gloria following the Second Vatican Council. If Dom Hügle is correct, this was allowed in the Traditional Latin Mass.

PERHAPS THIS PRACTICE — singing Mass Ordinary & Propers at Low Mass — is not as crazy as it sounds. After all, there were all kinds of “compromises” in the pre-Conciliar Mass. People who really know the EF Mass will admit that only two Masses exist as far as the rubrics are concerned: “Solemn Mass” (with Deacon, Subdeacon, and incense) and “Low Mass.” These are the two we included in the Campion Missal. I’m told using incense without Deacon and Subdeacon required an indult for quite a while. Over the years, all kinds of different practices arose. I’ve even seen a “High Mass” with one server who tried to incense the Sanctissimum at the Elevation while still lifting the priest’s chasuble with his other hand. Here is what Fr. Fortescue said:

Our so-called Missa Cantata is the compromise of a compromise, a Low Mass, with singing as at High Mass, only justifiable to enhance the dignity of Sunday Mass when a deacon and subdeacon cannot be had. And the practice of saying a Low Mass while the choir sings bits of things is too dreadful to be described. (Adrian Fortescue, The Mass, p. 191)

My feeling is that Dom Gregory Hügle is probably correct. He was very highly respected in his day, and Prior of Conception Abbey, Missouri. The entire August 1933 edition of Caecilia was dedicated to Dom Gregory.

By the way, I’ve already talked a lot about vernacular hymns at Low Mass. Read part 1 and 6 of my six-part series to read what I’ve written about this.   [Click here and scroll down to the bottom to view my six-part series.]

One final comment: this 1937 edition of Caecilia gave readers a special “sneak peek” of a new set of accompaniments to the Kyriale which Achille P. Bragers was about to release. Years later, these would become quite famous. Click here to download the Bragers Kyriale for free or puchase the hardbound copy (high key & low key).

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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Jeff Ostrowski

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“…I started down the road of the liturgy, and this became a continuous process of growth into a grand reality transcending all particular individuals and generations, a reality that became an occasion for me of ever-new amazement and discovery. The incredible reality of the Catholic liturgy has accompanied me through all phases of life, and so I shall have to speak of it time and again.”

— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

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