• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download: Mediator Dei Hymnal (1955)

Jeff Ostrowski · September 2, 2014

898 Mediator Dei Hymn Book Cyr de Brant HE MEDIATOR DEI HYMNAL was published in 1955, eight years after Pius XII promulgated his encyclical on the liturgy and three years before the death of Pius XII. It was the work of J. Vincent Higginson, who published it under the pseudonym CYR DE BRANT:

      * *  PDF: Mediator Dei Hymnal (1955)

Higginson had the reputation of being a “walking encyclopedia” of American hymnology, and served on the board of directors of the Society of St. Gregory. To see a photograph of Cyr de Brant, look at #1 here.

Over the next few months, we will release many more rare hymnals, in preparation for the release of the forthcoming Jogues Hymnal. We need everyone’s help in choosing the ABSOLUTE BEST Catholic hymns. More info regarding this exciting project will be released soon, and the Missal is already available!

MR. HIGGINSON DESERVES A GREAT DEAL of credit for his Mediator Dei Hymnal. It’s one of the first Catholic hymnals to include tune names, which are very important. He also chose only dignified, solid, respectable hymns—no easy task! His ingenuity is admirable, and he sometimes employed variations of excellent tunes (such as what he calls Paschal Lamb, Ave Virgo, and Victorious King) to make the melody fit the text he desired.

Finally, I’m amazed at how similar his choices are to the contents of the Pope Francis Hymn Book. After all, choosing hymns can be incredibly divisive … and sometimes brings musicians close to exchanging blows. That’s why it’s refreshing & rare to find someone whose choices are so similar!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Mediator Dei Hymnal Cyr de Brant, Roman Catholic Hymnals Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Some are called not to much speaking, | nor to conversations about the Church, | but, rather, to a deep silence | and to a life hidden in the heart of the Church, | far from wrangling tongues, from speculations, and discord. […] This is the essence of a Eucharistic monastic life.

— Fr. Mark Daniel Kirby (Meditation on Colossians 3:3)

Recent Posts

  • Vespers for Easter Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
  • Hidden Gem: Ave Regina Caelorum (Steven Talley)
  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.