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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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Quick Thoughts

PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

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—Jeff Ostrowski

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— John Henry Cardinal Newman (1848)

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