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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

When Is The Sequence Sung? Before The Alleluia?

Jeff Ostrowski · January 2, 2014

899 Sequence O STUDENT of Gregorian chant needs to be told how sequences came into being, nor why they were always sung after the Alleluia. However, in 1969, things changed somewhat. Let’s take one thing at a time here … this subject confuses many.

So, first of all, when the (ancient) Gregorian Alleluia is sung, the Sequence comes after the Alleluia. If you don’t believe me, read the official Novus Ordo rubrics by clicking here. We provided three (3) different translations of the Ordo Cantus Missae, so there’s no doubt what it says.

However, the Ordo Cantus Missae makes no mention of the Gospel Acclamation, which can replace the (ancient) Gregorian Alleluia. For this, we have to look in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM). When the GIRM was first published around 1970, it didn’t specify when the Sequence is sung. It merely said “Sequences are optional, except on Easter Sunday and Pentecost.” However, the postconciliar books moved the Sequence, placing it before the Gospel Acclamation. You can see this by downloading the 1975 Missale Romanum.

If you don’t comprehend Latin, just look at the following:

      * *  1-page PDF • scanned from the very first Lectionary, ©1970

By the way, notice that in the 1970s they included a prose translation in addition to the “poetic” translation which was plagiarized and then horribly mangled (see this article).

THE ODD THING IS, THERE WAS AN EFFORT at restoring the Sequence to its proper place in the most recent edition of the Roman Missal. The Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (©2000) said in section 64:

Sequentia, quae praeter quam diebus Paschae et Pentecostes, est ad libitum, cantatur post Alleluia.

Fr. Robert Skeris, writing in Sacred Music (Vol. 128, No. 1), correctly translates this as:

The Sequence, which is optional except on Easter and Pentecost, is sung after the Alleluia.   [§64]

Again, to be clear, the GIRM is speaking of the Gospel Acclamation (not the ancient Gregorian Alleluia). You can read more here.

However, a few years later, in the official edition of the Roman Missal, this sentence was altered, and nobody knows why this change was made. Perhaps certain parties were unhappy that the Sequence would be restored to where it always had been, prior to 1969.

The end result is that the current GIRM has the Sequence before the Gospel Acclamation, whereas the 2012 Gregorian Missal continues to place the Sequence after the Alleluia … and they’re both right!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Liturgical Sequences, Novus Ordo Lectionary Reform, Ordo Cantus Missae, Roman Missal Third Edition Last Updated: October 12, 2022

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
    Various shell corporations (in an effort to make money selling Sacred Scripture) have tinkered with the LECTIONARY texts in a way that’s shameful. It’s no wonder Catholics in the pews know so few Bible passages by heart. Without authorization, these shell corporations pervert the official texts. Consider the Responsorial Psalm for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year A). If you download this PDF comparison chart you’ll notice each country randomly omits certain sections. Such tinkering has gone on for 60+ years—and it’s reprehensible.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Monsignor Klaus Gamber Speaks!
    An interesting quotation from the eminent liturgist, Monsignor Klaus Gamber (d. 1989): “According to canon law, a person’s affiliation with a particular liturgical rite is determined by that person’s rite of baptism. Given that the liturgical reforms of Pope Paul VI created a de facto new rite, one could assert that those among the faithful who were baptized according to the traditional Roman rite have the right to continue following that rite; just as priests who were ordained according to the traditional Ordo have the right to exercise the very rite that they were ordained to celebrate.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

In the ’60s, I thought this emphasis on congregational singing was to encourage good Catholic hymns like “Immaculate Mary” and so forth … but after the Council, they threw them out, too!

— ‘Fr. Valentine Young, OFM (2007)’

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