Views from the Choir Loft

Tonight, pray Compline for the Holy Souls

Veronica Brandt · November 2, 2013

ANY YEARS AGO we bought booklets from our local FSSP for Compline. Tonight I found they had been superceded by these, but the old ones are still available here. One oddity about the old ones is that the psalms for All Souls’ Day are only given in Latin. No English translation as in the rest of the booklet. So each year, just after we muddle through, I renew my resolution to type up a supplement.

This time, thanks to the magic of time-zones, I can type up the supplement after we’ve said Compline, ready for the beginning of All Souls’ Day over the other side of the world.

* * Psalms for Compline on All Souls’ Day according to the 1962 books, in Latin from the Clementine Vulgate and English from the Douay Rheims Challoner translation.

Also of note, Steven van Roode has compiled a new Compline book according to the current Liturgy of the Hours. And it’s all in Latin (there is a Latin/Dutch or Flemish version available). Though the rest of the hours use a 4 week cycle, Compline is kept simple with the same psalms each week, making it a great one to get started with.

Even the Episcopalians are doing it.

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

About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

All of the chants for 27 July 2025, which is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down.” The COMMUNION ANTIPHON—both text and melody—are particularly beautiful and exceedingly ancient.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser

To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Errors in Latin: “17th Sund. Ordinary”

The COMMUNION for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) contains several typos in the Jogues Illuminated Missal with regard to the Latin text. That particular COMMUNION ANTIPHON is extremely ancient, and the English Adaptation is utterly gorgeous. For the record, it’s normal for books to contain typos; even books by Father Fortescue and Monsignor Knox have errors. Books by Solesmes Abbey—surely among the finest ever produced—contain many printing errors. Click here to see a few examples of typos.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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