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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Chris Mueller’s Unique Voice in the Propers

Richard J. Clark · December 6, 2013

HRIS MUELLER is an astonishingly prolific composer, director and performer. His extraordinary musicianship comes to mind as a natural follow-up to my to my Challenge for the “Big Three” – Is there a Market for the Propers?

Heard on NPR, EWTN, and at the 2012 Sacred Music Colloquium, his Missa pro editione tertia, is perhaps already familiar to many of you.

From his own website:

Appointed in February, 2012 as the Director of Music for the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, CT, and following 12 1/2 years as the Director of Music for the Church of Notre Dame, Christopher Mueller (pronounced “miller”) conducts Gregorian chant and sacred Renaissance polyphony for the 12:00 p.m. Mass late on Sunday mornings. He has composed over 200 sacred choral works, the bulk of which were written for parish liturgies. Many, though not all of them, are settings of Gregorian chants – for instance, there is a nearly complete cycle of the Sunday Introits.

VERY UNIQUE COLLECTION is his quickly growing set of free-composed English Offertory propers. Many of them are available for purchase on his website and you can click on “Audio Samples” to hear some of them. I hope he publishes a collection of his works—most likely in several volumes!

In the past year, I have had the privilege of previewing a large number of his Offertories. While Mr. Mueller refers to them as “miniatures” they are only modest in length, but not in treatment. Each is unique and made fully alive in the text it serves. They are short enough to be accessible for many parish choirs, but reveal a depth of character that gives them lasting power. He has developed a voice all of his own, a voice that greatly serves the liturgy in beauty and in prayer.

One can spend a great deal of time on his website listening and learning. It is perhaps just a small testament of a lifetime of commitment to producing music that is sacred, beautiful and universal. His stamina and commitment are exactly what the Church needs. I don’t believe he will stop anytime soon!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Propers 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

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and 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

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

“Some of our younger parish clergy read their sermons. This should not be done except for some very special reason. The priest who is not capable of preparing and delivering a brief, clear instruction on Catholic teaching to his people is not fit to be in parish work. The people as a rule do not want to listen to a sermon reader.”

— Archbishop of Baltimore (9 July 1929)

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