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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

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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President’s Corner

    Music List • (3rd Sund. Ordinary Time)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for this coming Sunday: the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are available at the monumental feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Holy Name Hymn” (2-Voice Arrangement)
    When we post a direct URL link, we frequently get thousands of downloads. But when scrolling is required, very few take the time. I mention this because those who click on this URL link and scroll to the bottom can download—completely free of charge—a clever 2-voice arrangement for a famous hymn to the Most Holy Name of Jesus. In a pinch, it can be nicely sung by one male and one female! It will be of interest to those who seek arrangements for two voices.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Introit (3rd Sn. Ord.)
    This coming Sunday, 25 January 2026, is the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). The ENTRANCE CHANT (“Dóminus secus mare”) is somewhat rare because it comes from the New Testament. The authentic version in Latin—of astounding antiquity—was jettisoned in 1955 but restored in 1970. This rehearsal video has me attempting to sing the melody while simultaneously accompanying myself on the organ. I encourage you to print off the organ accompaniment (PDF) and play through it because it has extremely ‘happy’ harmonies.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Reminder” — Month of January (2026)
    On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)
    I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “In Paradisum” in English
    We always sing the IN PARADISUM in Latin, as printed on this PDF score. I have an appallingly bad memory (meaning I’d be a horrible witness in court). In any event, it’s been brought to my attention that 15 years ago I created this organ accompaniment for the famous and beautiful ‘IN PARADISUM’ Gregorian chant sung in English according to ‘MR3’ (Roman Missal, Third Edition). If anyone desires such a thing, feel free to download and print. Looking back, I wish I’d brought the TENOR and BASS voices into a unison (on B-Natural) for the word “welcome” on the second line.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders”—is that English idiom? “For the Nazis, and all the Germans, except they say Heil Hitler! meet not in the street, holding their lives valuable”—is that English idiom?

— Monsignor Ronald Knox

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