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Views from the Choir Loft

A Challenge for the “Big Three” — Is there a Market for the Propers?

Richard J. Clark · November 29, 2013

N THIS “BLACK FRIDAY”, I AM DELIGHTED to see Russell Weismann’s Advent Communion Antiphons published with GIA Publications, Inc. Simple and accessible, they are expertly composed by the former Associate Director of Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine. Having had opportunity to preview and sing this wonderful collection a year ago, it is encouraging to see one of the “Big Three” put forth such a work. While I remain cautiously optimistic, one must take note of new directions by mainstream publishers as it signals a broader change in the market. (E.g., Chief Publishing Officer for the J.S. Paluch Co., Dr. Jerry Galipeau’s description of the “servant model of composition.”)

As settings of antiphons have been historically ignored by mainstream publishers, there are recent notable exceptions, e.g. Christopher Tietze’s Communion Antiphons for the Easter Season (World Library Publications) and Christopher Walker’s Communion Antiphons for SATB Choir. (Oregon Catholic Press) The current market share may be relatively small, but these publications reflect an emerging awareness of the propers, and hence an emerging market.

N THE SUBJECT OF THE APPROVAL OF TEXTS, the U.S. bishops long ago abdicated their authority. (“The texts of antiphons, psalms, hymns, and songs for the Liturgy must have been approved either by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops or by the local diocesan bishop.”— STTL, no. 110; see GIRM, no. 48) As a result, Roman Catholic music publishing has been left to the free market and in many ways has been no different than the overall music industry. What is published is determined by what is popular and what will sell, i.e., supply and demand. Keep in mind, the “Big Three” (WLP, GIA, and OCP) have had long-term success, which means they have had solid and sustainable business models; they know how to gauge the market very well.

Not surprisingly, Catholic music publishers and composers face the same challenges that have plagued the popular music industry in the last decade. Rory Cooney describes here the detrimental impact iTunes, YouTube, and digital technology have had on profits in the music business—and likewise how difficult it is to make a living as a Roman Catholic songwriter.

BUT HERE IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING: Challenges for the music industry from digital technology have in fact propelled the “reform of the reform.” The universal business model has changed—one adopted readily by proponents of the “reform of the reform”: Give away a calculated amount of product for free in order to educate, promote, generate traffic, and therefore, sales.

Added to this are those who desire to catechize and serve the Church, considering sales secondary or even irrelevant. (The USCCB and ICEL’s proliferation of the Roman Missal Chants for FREE is a prime example.) This influences the supply side even further, but subsequently may generate increased demand in the long run. (That remains to be seen.) Many have composed various settings for the propers, available for free online—some that accompany book sales—just to name a few:

• Adam Barlett: Simple English Propers and Lumen Christi Missal
• Jeff Ostrowski: Lalemant Propers
• Richard Rice: Simple Choral Gradual
• Andrew Motyka: Laudate Dominum Communion Antiphons
• My own collection of Advent, Lent, and Easter Communion Propers

PROPOSE A CHALLENGE TO THE “BIG THREE” publishers. The communion antiphons are the easiest gateway to singing the propers. I challenge the “Big Three” to get ahead of the curve now:

• GIA: Commission a larger collection from Russell Weismann and additional composers, including Michael Joncas, who has shown for well over thirty years an affinity for setting the scriptures to music in diverse and evolving styles. (See his Psalm 63 “As the Watchman” and his recent mass setting, Missa ad Gentes)

• WLP: Commission a collection of communion propers from Steven C. Warner, a composer who has shown an ability to communicate universally.

• OCP: Commission a collection of propers from Christopher Willcock, S.J. His unparalleled talent in setting text to music is among the most versatile I’ve seen (and had the privilege to work with at Boston College.)

• To GIA, WLP & OCP: I challenge one of you to promote and distribute the work of Adam Bartlett, clearly the leading figure in the United States and the entire English Speaking world on this subject. The Simple English Propers have already established a market and track record of book sales. His Illuminare Publications is ripe for distribution.

HE AVERAGE PARISHIONER COULND’T CARE LESS about the GIRM, Sacrosanctum Concilium, or any encyclical of Pope Saint Pius X. Therefore, the question should not be framed as “Are we singing the antiphons and psalms, which take precedence over hymns and songs as outlined by the various liturgy documents?” Instead, the question should be, “Are we singing the mass and therefore the scriptures, which enrich our prayerful devotion toward God?” Typical parishioners do respond to singing the scriptures; this is the vital question.

I believe composing for the propers is the frontier of Roman Catholic composition, and therefore publishing. The mustard seed we plant will yield great fruit for the Church and for our prayer.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Propers, Singing the Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for Pentecost Sunday (8 June 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Because our choir is on break this week, the music is relatively simple.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“We know that originally the offertories of the repertoire included a series of verses, just like the introit and the communion, but generally more ornate. Many of these are musical compositions of great beauty. They quickly fell into disuse, and we find them only in the most ancient manuscripts. The only remaining trace of this older arrangement in our present-day liturgy is that of the offertory of the Requiem Mass.”

— Dom Joseph Gajard (1956)

Recent Posts

  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
  • “Participation” • Recovering its Receptive Dimension

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