Views from the Choir Loft

Singing A Capella During the Easter Triduum

Andrew R. Motyka · April 9, 2014

HE EASTER TRIDUUM can produce some interesting musical challenges. The amount of music preparation necessary for these most important three days of the liturgical year is daunting. Hopefully your preparation is going well.

One tradition that many parishes continue is singing a cappella beginning after the Gloria on Holy Thursday until the Gloria on Easter Vigil. While this is normative in the Extraordinary Form, it is optional in the Ordinary Form. The rubrics about instrumental use during the Triduum are identical to those during Lent: instruments may only be used to accompany singing. Nevertheless, following the older tradition, even in the Ordinary Form, lends a solemnity to the Triduum that punctuates the entire season.

Most choirs can sing at least simple music without accompaniment. Here are Responsorial Psalms for both Holy Thursday and Good Friday. They are set for a cappella SATB choir, and could quite easily be learned in one rehearsal (good thing; that’s probably all you have left).

I hope your last week of preparation is fruitful, beautiful, and low-stress.

CLICK BELOW for the FREE PDF download.

* * Holy Thursday Responsorial Psalm — Motyka

* * Good Friday Responsorial Psalm — Motyka

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

About Andrew R. Motyka

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

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

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