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Views from the Choir Loft

“No Propers? No High Mass!” — 1933 Article

Jeff Ostrowski · June 30, 2014

323 High Mass Latin E RECENTLY POSTED a Complete Proper of the Mass with Organ (1946) and it was downloaded more than 700 times. As a kind of “follow-up,” here’s an interesting article from 1933, with paragraphs like the following:

On 16 January 1885, the Bishop of Lucan, France, put the following condition of his diocese before the Sacred Congregation of Rites: “Here in Lucan exists the custom of having High Masses daily. At these High Masses the choir omits the Gloria, Credo, Gradual, Tract and Sequence because the singers are usually one person and the people who attend are of the working class and we do not wish to detain them. May the method of singing High Mass above. described be continued or must it be done away with?” The Congregation answered: “The method is an abuse and must be done away with.”

Read the whole article — it’s only one page!

      * *  Why Sing The Proper Of The Mass? (1933) — PDF Download

Perhaps our contributor, Richard Clark, can weigh in with regard to their statements about the Archdiocese of Boston (in 1933):

And so our archdiocese stands forth with a record of 95% of its churches singing the Proper every Sunday. By degrees we are sure that the attitude of the Sacred Congregation of Rites — “No Proper? No High Mass.” — will become the rule every where in the archdiocese.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Graduale Romanum Roman Gradual Propers, Mass Propers Proprium Missae Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Jeff Ostrowski

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—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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