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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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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

    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
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —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

“Since the English is not meant to be sung—but only to tell people who do not understand Latin what the hymn text means—a simple paraphrase in prose is sufficient. The versions are not always very literal. (Literal translations from Latin hymns would often look odd in English.) I have tried to give in a readable, generally rhythmic form the real meaning of the text.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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