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Views from the Choir Loft

What They Didn’t Tell You About Psalm Tone VIII

Jeff Ostrowski · December 11, 2014

578 Tone 8 Psalm Tone Mode Eight OMEONE who explains to a young driver the meaning of the green and red traffic lights but says nothing about the yellow light is guilty of a serious omission. The same is true when it comes to explaining the Gregorian psalm tones. Many manuals, even the front of the Liber Usualis, leave out critical information.

Eventually, I will explain all eight psalm tones, but today I treat Mode 8 “simple” psalm tone.

Those alive during the 1990s remember The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Do you know why that sentence was used to display fonts? It’s because every letter of the alphabet is used. Similarly, these Latin sentences use every possibility:

PSALM 138 • Et vide, si via iniquitátis in me est: * et deduc me in via aetérna.

PSALM 115 • Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.

PSALM 129 • Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te Dómine.

PSALM 110 • Memóriam fecit mirabílium suórum, † miséricors et miserátor Dóminus: * escam dedit timéntibus se.

The significance & importance of these will become clear below.

97% of Latin words end with a Trochee or Dactyl:

A Trochee (e.g. Déus) has the accent on the penult—that is, the second-last syllable.

A Dactyl (e.g. Dóminus) has the accent on the antepenult—that is, the third-last syllable.

When setting texts to a Mode 8 psalm tone, you can follow the Rules For Psalm Tones without any issues 97% of the time. Hundreds of fully notated psalms (Psalmi in Notis) are available at the Lalande Library.

Setting Mode 8 is easy when each line ends with a Trochee or Dactyl:

      * *  PDF Sample Page: Solesmes Psalmi in Notis (1908)

Now let’s examine the difficult cases.

Psalm 138 has a mediant that ends with three (3) monosyllables:

PSALM 138 • Et vide, si via iniquitátis in me est: * et deduc me in via aetérna.

The more common way would be:

577 Mode 8 First


However, the 1912 Vatican decree also allows:

576 Mode 8 Second

Psalm 115 has a Trochee followed by a monosyllable:

PSALM 115 • Crédidi, propter quod locútus sum: * ego autem humiliátus sum nimis.

The more common way makes this into a “false” Dactyl:

575 Mode 8 Third


But the 1912 Vatican decree also allows:

574 Mode 8 Fourth

Psalm 129 has a Dactyl followed by a monosyllable:

PSALM 129 • Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te Dómine.

This would normally be treated:

573 Tone 8 Fifth


But the 1912 decree gives permission for:

572 Mode 8 Sixth

Finally, what should be done with Psalm 110, whose ending consists of a Dactyl plus a monosyllable?

PSALM 110 • Memóriam fecit mirabílium suórum, †
miséricors et miserátor Dóminus: * escam dedit timéntibus se.

Here’s what you do:

571 Mode 8 SEVENTH


If you don’t believe me, you can see proof in Psalmi in Notis.

Speaking of endings with a Dactyl plus a monosyllable, the same is true for this example:

661 corripias me


The same is true of this example (“refíciam vos”):

179 reficiam


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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Psalm Tone Mode 8 Tone Eight Simple 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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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
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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!

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“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!”

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