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Views from the Choir Loft

Interleaving Latin and English on the page

Veronica Brandt · January 4, 2014

1st psalm sunday compline First psalm of Sunday at Compline from a home made booklet. AST WEEK Jeff asked Aren’t Altar Missals Required to Print the Latin Alongside the English. The article deplored the excuse for leaving out the Latin because of “difficulties” in accommodating two languages on the one page or even in the one book.

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered. – G. K. Chesterton

Maybe Bugnini should have read more Chesterton.

Usually Latin and English are set in parallel columns or even on facing pages. Sometimes one language is set in smaller type or in an italic to help the eye differentiate the two. Some books keep one language on the outer edge of the page, another on the inner, which gives each two page spread a nice symmetry.

At the moment I am working on a booklet for Compline according to the Roman Breviary of 1962 for my family. The picture up there is an extract. I did start with the two column layout, but thought that maybe this layout inspired by The New Psalter with Interverse Translation might go better. The New Psalter uses a bold roman for the Latin and a mid weight roman for the English. My pointed psalms make this tricky as the Latin utilizes bold and italic. I though about using Comic Sans, as the booklet is just for my family, but couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. Instead I settled on Worstveld Sling.

Click the above photo for a better look. The rest of the booklet is sporadically updated at GitLab.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Compline, Typography Last Updated: April 25, 2020

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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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —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

“If a pope were only ever applauded, he would have to ask himself whether or not he was doing things right.”

— Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (2016)

Recent Posts

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  • August 2025 • “Colorado Sacred Music Conference”
  • New “Latin/English Missal” for the Novus Ordo
  • Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published

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