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Views from the Choir Loft

Impressive New Hymnal for the Divine Office

Guest Author · October 2, 2013

358 Dominican This is a guest article by Br. Dominic Verner O.P.

FTER MANY YEARS of comparing manuscripts, compiling chants, and refining translations, the treasures of the Dominican chant tradition have at last been compiled into an impressive new hymnal for the Divine Office, the Dominican Hymnarium. For those interested in the recovery of Gregorian Chant and the realization of the Second Vatican Council Fathers’ desire that chant “be given pride of place in liturgical services” this is indeed an exciting milestone. The hymnal to be published by the Liturgical Commission of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph is now it its final stages of preparation and is only in need of a modest sum of funding to bring the project to completion. Benefactors who contribute $25 or more can receive a complimentary copy of the Dominican Hymnarium once it is published.

The Dominican chant tradition, a distinctive thread of the Gregorian chant tradition, remains unknown to many. The tradition finds its origins in St. Dominic himself, but it received a stable and decisive direction by Humbert of Romans, the fifth Master of the Order of Preachers. The Hymnarium’s introduction explains this rich history:

St. Dominic, who is well known for having sung hymns such as the Ave maris stella and the Veni creator as he walked throughout Europe, passed on to the Order of Preachers his love of singing the liturgy. One element of the early Dominican liturgy that was cultivated with great care was the repertoire of Latin hymnody sung at the various hours of the Divine Office. Through the diligent revisions of the Dominican liturgy that took place in the mid-thirteenth century under the direction of Humbert of Romans, the Order developed a selection of hymns that was used continuously from the time of Humbert through the twentieth century, unchanged but for the addition of hymns for new feasts.

The Dominican hymn repertoire is particularly remarkable for its sophisticated arrangement of melodies based on the rank of a feast, as well as for preserving the traditional texts of the hymns even after the promulgation of neo-classical versions in the seventeenth century. The melodies range in character from mere recitation tones elaborated with only a few notes to sustained cries of jubilation. The texts of the Proper of Time are concise and poetic presentations of the mysteries of the faith. and the texts of the Proper of Saints recall the great miracles and deeds of the saints in a memorable way. Through the concord of text and melody the singer encounters a veritable musical catechism that recalls salvation history and leads one more deeply into the rhythms and mysteries of the Church’s year. . . .

Sample recordings of each hymn melody can be found on the project’s website. Be sure to check out melody 45, which is reserved for feasts of Holy Father Dominic, and the haunting melody 56, from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All the recordings were made by friars of the Province of St. Joseph at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington DC.

Please consider lending a hand to help bring this project to completion. Online donations can be offered here: https://rally.org/hymnarium.

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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President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

“The Pope is not an absolute monarch whose thoughts and desires are law. On the contrary: the Pope’s ministry is a guarantee of obedience to Christ and to his Word. He must not proclaim his own ideas, but rather constantly bind himself and the Church to obedience to God’s Word, in the face of every attempt to adapt it or water it down, and every form of opportunism.”

— ‘His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (11 May 2005)’

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