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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Easy Organ Hymns for Catholics

Veronica Brandt · January 3, 2015

St Cecilia with portative organ Master of the Saint Bartholomew – Saint Cecilia playing the organ HERE ARE LOTS OF REASONS you might like to try playing the organ. It is a brilliant instrument, indeed it is called the King of Instruments. It is handy for accompanying singing. It is the best instrument for playing the beginning of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor.

On a more serious note, Vatican II (Sacrosanctum Concilium) says:

120. In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.

So, you want to play the organ. If you are lucky, you may find a mentor and teacher to help guide you. You may have an instrument to practise on at home. Your guide may have much experience in teaching as well as playing really great organ music.

Or maybe you’re in a bit of a rut, with less than ideal conditions, but you really want to hear better music at Mass. If you’re not going to give it a go, who else will?

How to get better at playing the organ.

Practice.

Yup, practice.

I bet you didn’t want that answer.

But there is good news. If you can read music, there are some great books out there.

For accompanying Gregorian Chant you can’t go past Nova Organi Harmonia. Seriously, this is a fantastic collection. Even for a beginner. If you know pieces like Ave Verum and Veni Creator, go download Volume 8 – the Vesperale. The left hand part moves slowly and you can start with just the melody with the right hand.

When I was first digging into the Nova Organi Harmonia, I made some transcriptions here. Yes, I like everything in the key of C.

For accompanying hymns there is a new work A Catholic Organist’s Book of Hymns by Noel Jones – for learning to accompany hymns on the organ. This book provides simple 3 part arrangements of hundreds of popular hymn tunes. Sample pages available on the website include the first 17 pages of the book. There you can find the introductory sage advice and five hymns, each in two arrangements, one for accompanying singing and a Choral Prelude with more esoteric harmonies for playing in a more meditative vein.

One recommendation from A Catholic Organist’s Book of Hymns is to play through a whole verse before the singing begins. He recommends using the Choral Prelude version for this purpose. This gives people time to pick up the hymnbooks and open them – one of the great drawbacks of starting off a hymn by voice alone. Taking the time to play through a hymn seems to go against some instinct – maybe some sort of embarrassment, or need to hide under cover of other voices. The organist is meant to lead the singing. There is nowhere to hide – this could be a springboard for an argument for placing an organ up the back – an organist who can hide in the visible sense may have more confidence to lead in the audial sense.

UPDATE: Noel Jones also has A Catholic Book of Hymns – CHORDS which combines the three part organ arrangements with chord names. Very handy!

There is a built in tendency for nervous musicians to rush things – I think as your heart beats faster, your perception of time is dilated. As you build more confidence your sense of timing improves too.

I should add some sort of caveat here – I am not an organist, only someone who occasionally gets the nerve to play at Mass, in a very small church, with very accommodating parishioners. I offer these ideas from the perspective of someone very experienced in being inexperienced – if there is such a thing. I hope someone finds them useful.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: congregational singing, Gregorian Chant Accompaniments, Pipe Organ, Sheet Music Last Updated: May 14, 2023

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I ask that future priests, from their time in the seminary, receive the preparation needed to understand and to celebrate Mass in Latin, and also to use Latin texts and execute Gregorian chant; nor should we forget that the faithful can be taught to recite the more common prayers in Latin, and also to sing parts of the liturgy to Gregorian chant.”

— SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS

Recent Posts

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  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
  • “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)

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