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Views from the Choir Loft

Tools for the Day

Andrew R. Motyka · January 22, 2014

AVE YOU EVER NOTICED that the Communion Antiphon, more than any other proper, tends to directly reflect back to the Gospel? It is most certainly true of the antiphon this weekend, which goes directly to Jesus’ call to Andrew and Peter.

On a side note, this weekend’s Gospel is why my namesake is included in the Roman Canon as a mandatory name, even though most of the other apostles are optional. Andrew holds a special place as the first apostle to be called. So there.

If you anything like I was several years ago, you are tired of the same half-dozen or so Communion hymns that show up in every hymnal. Since most parishes are not yet ready to move to the Gregorian Proper, why not give these a try? They are simple antiphons which do not require a worship aid to remember, follow the text of the proper, and are related by modality to the Gregorian chant of the Communio. The verses are set to the St. Meinrad Psalm Tones, which is another tool that every pastoral musician should be familiar with.

We should be always expanding our toolboxes with new ideas for implementing propers and furthering the solemnity of the liturgy. Increased solemnity in the liturgy should always be our goal, and the propers help with this much better than the newest song about gathering around the dinner table.

This past Christmas, I received one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. I was told that the music did a beautiful job fostering a spirit of prayer and keeping us there. That is the goal: to bring people to Jesus.

Come to think of it, every time Andrew appears in the Gospel, he is bringing someone to Jesus. We should do the same.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms — especially from Gregorian chant — a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.

— Pope John Paul II (June 1980)

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