• 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
    • Views from the Choir Loft • “Our Team”
    • Our Editorial Policy
  • 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
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Mass in Honor of Saint Noël Chabanel
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Sanctus/Benedictus: Should It Be Divided At Mass?

Jeff Ostrowski · October 29, 2014

741 Sacred Mass HROUGHOUT the Church’s history, there have been various schools of thought regarding “breaking” the Sanctus-Benedictus. (When broken, the second half is sung after the Consecration.) Pope Pius XII took a “via media” in his 1958 document, declaring:

(27d) The Sanctus and Benedictus, if chanted in Gregorian, must be sung without a break; otherwise the Benedictus is to be sung after the Consecration.

Certainly many compositions are written in a way that clearly suggests being broken. An extremist might be bothered by this. After all, didn’t Pope Pius X make the following declaration in 1903?

(11c) In the hymns of the Church the traditional form of the hymn is preserved. It is not lawful, therefore, to compose, for instance, a “Tantum ergo” in such wise that the first strophe presents a romanza, a cavatina, an adagio and the “Genitori” an allegro.

We must guard against looking at music the same way we look at speech. Someone who does might exclaim, “When we speak the Sanctus, we don’t break it, so neither should we when singing it.” Such an approach is faulty; for example, some melismas in Gregorian chant have more than 70 notes on a single syllable; that’s because it’s music not speech. To learn more, please read Thoughts on Englishing the Gradual.

Medieval Catholics avoided the SING AS YOU SPEAK error. Often, they would use a chant melody as cantus firmus and “let the chips fall as they may.” In other words, the various sections would not take into consideration individual words, so a word like BENEDICIMUS might be broken in one voice: “BENEDI” for one movement, and “CIMUS” for the next. Some people have suggested those lines were played by instruments, but scholarly opinion differs on whether this was the case.

At the same time, I would never suggest we do something merely because it happened during the Church’s history. After all, some silly medieval Church composers had multiple languages sung simultaneously! 1

Oregon Catholic Press recently sent me a book that tries to revive this custom. It is a book of hymns with Spanish and English lyrics. The editor of the book suggests that those who know Spanish sing the hymn in Spanish, while those who know English sing the hymn in English … at the same time!



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   A secular chanson in French might be placed on top, a Latin religious text in the middle voice, and so forth.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Sanctus Benedictus Split Broken Divided 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

    William Byrd • Simple “Agnus Dei” Canon
    Time flies! Back in July, I posted a PDF setting of a perfect canon by William Byrd (d. 1623) arranged as an AGNUS DEI for three voices. Last Sunday, we sang that arrangement with our volunteer choir. To hear a ‘live’ recording of it, click here (Mp3). In my humble opinion, this would be a perfect piece for a choir just beginning to experiment with polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The unity of language in the liturgy is so great a treasure for the Church that no advantage could compensate for its demise.”

— Dom Anselmo Albareda (2 January 1953), Father Nicola Giampietro, page 249

Recent Posts

  • Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Nuances of Nuances” (28 Sep 2023)
  • William Byrd • Simple “Agnus Dei” Canon
  • Active Participation or Not?
  • (Not Kidding) • Does Singing for Mass Fulfill One’s Obligation to Attend Mass?
  • A Brief Addendum

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.