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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Important Resources for Liturgical Reform (5 of 7)

Guest Author · August 12, 2014

EVERAL MONTHS AGO, VCL readers may recall, I posted about my work, the Simple English Choral Propers which uses the offertories from the “Simple English Propers” by Adam Bartlett (unaltered) as cantus firmi. The aim of these pieces: parish choirs of all sizes and skill levels who desire chant-based polyphony for their offertory Mass propers. They also propose a good stepping stone for the beginning choir to approach polyphony.

The strong response to my earlier post introducing these pieces shows 1) the enduring quality of the SEP themselves, 2) a desire on the part of parish choirs to choose a chant-based polyphonic setting of the offertory propers, 3) parish choirs preferring to eliminate the necessity of a second offertory song after a ‘compulsory’ propers chant exposition – as I have witnessed several parish choirs do since embracing the propers chants, and 4) the attractiveness of psalm tones proclaimed in choral harmony.

In the not too far off future, the entire cycle will be posted and a complete book will be available. At present, I am introducing a limited selection of the pieces that they may continue to get the ball rolling for parish choirs who find the SEP attractive and wish to explore more deeply the chant’s harmonic and rhythmic implications.

      * *  Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Free PDF

      * *  20th Sunday in Ordinary Time — Free PDF

      * *  23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time — Free PDF

      * *  28th Sunday in Ordinary Time — Free PDF

      * *  33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time — Free PDF

      * *  Christ the King Sunday — Free PDF

      * *  1st Sunday of Advent — Free PDF

      * *  2nd Sunday of Advent — Free PDF

      * *  3rd Sunday of Advent — Free PDF

      * *  4th Sunday of Advent — Free PDF

      * *  Christmas (vigil) — Free PDF

      * *  Christmas (midnight mass) — Free PDF

      * *  Christmas (daytime mass) — Free PDF

      * *  Epiphany — Free PDF

Assumed is a basic knowledge of the Simple English Propers as these pieces follow the same modus operandi. For those unfamiliar with SEP, they may want to look at this practical guide. A tutorial on SE Choral versions may be found here.


We hope you enjoyed this guest post by Jon Naples.



7-part series:   “Important Resources for Liturgical Reform”

FIRST PART • Richard Clark

SECOND PART • Veronica Brandt

THIRD PART • Fr. David Friel

FOURTH PART • Jeff Ostrowski

FIFTH PART • Jon Naples

SIXTH PART • Andrew Motyka

SEVENTH PART • Peter Kwasniewski

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Simple English Mass Propers Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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President’s Corner

    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
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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

Random Quote

He stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year-old member of his family a cardinal and subsidize a nephew from the papal treasury.

— Re: Pope Saint Pius V (d. 1572)

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