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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

Reflections On Marty Haugen’s “Mass Of Creation” (Revised Version)

Jeff Ostrowski · January 5, 2015

492 Jimmy Carter IMMY CARTER and George W. Bush had something in common: neither one could correctly pronounce the word “NUCLEAR.” Here’s a video with ten mispronunciations in just 38 seconds:

      * *  Video • “NUCLEAR” by Carter & Bush

Both men possessed power to destroy the entire world—by means of nuclear weapons—but could not even pronounce the word. Strange, no? 1

Yesterday, I received an email from a priest, asking me to explain why the revised setting of Marty Haugen’s Mass of Creation sounds so horrible (according to him). He went on to say:

In my opinion it’s a lazy attempt to stuff a new song into an old box. I’m not a musician so I’d appreciate your thoughts.

Similar to the Carter/Bush “nuclear” pronunciation, I find it strange that popular composers of Catholic liturgical music—and Haugen certainly is one—sometimes disregard fundamental principles of music. Having visited YouTube (so I could assess the revised setting) I fully agree with that priest. The revised setting has a deficient form which “crams” the new words into old wineskins.

WARNING : The article below contains candid opinions about a popular Mass setting. Not everyone will agree with these opinions!

HOW DIFFERENT IS HAUGEN’S SETTING than Gregorian chant. Are you familiar with the “golden ratio” concept? Gregorian composers employed it frequently. For example, Gloria III reaches its highest notes according to the golden ratio.

Before the revision, Haugen’s Gloria “worked” much better, but I still had serious reservations about it. In my opinion, the biggest problem was its heavy reliance on rhythm, whereas authentic Church music takes as its foundation the melody. Moreover, it basically uses a “minor” tonality—in spite of the flattened seventh—whereas great Church music usually makes use of the Church modes, which mysteriously float back and forth between major & minor tonalities. Compared to the Church modes, Common-practice era “minor” tonality often sounds dingy. 2

I find Haugen’s Gloria lacking in harmonic imagination—even stagnant—especially in parts like this. Much of it is plodding and predictable, especially parts like this (perhaps the result of its heavy reliance upon rhythm). Some would argue that congregational music must be predictable, but I strongly disagree. Music can be simple without being predictable.

By way of contrast, consider the beautiful poem by Prudentius (d. 413) which is often sung in English to Dr. Neale’s brilliant translation. Here’s an organ accompaniment for DIVINUM MYSTERIUM, the most common melody:

      * *  PDF Download • Of The Father’s Love Begotten (Organ Accompaniment)

Don’t allow the lush harmonies or parallel seventh chords to scare you! The accompaniment was composed according to NOH principles. To me, the bright & varied harmonies, careful use of dissonance, and preference for oblique and contrary motion propel the melody forward.

Finally, we have occasionally made reference to a very popular “contemporary” Mass setting based on the My Little Pony theme song (e.g. here and here). A family member heard about this and warned me they had “proof” I once enjoyed Missa My Little Pony. Lo and behold, I received a picture of myself in the 1980s:

490 My Little Pony



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   For the record, President Obama does not understand the difference between “who” and “whom.”

2   Needless to say, in the proper place and context, minor keys can be sensational. I love and appreciate all kinds of music, but over the years I’ve come to realize that not all great music is appropriate for Church. For example, the Wedding March by Mendelssohn/Liszt/Horowitz is absolutely delightful: without question a masterpiece … but not for Church!

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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
    “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

Random Quote

“Who dreamed on that day that within a few years, far less than a decade, the Latin past of the Church would be all but expunged, that it would be reduced to a memory fading in the middle distance? The thought of it would have horrified us, but it seemed so far beyond the realm of the possible as to be ridiculous. So we laughed it off.”

— Most Rev’d Robert J. Dwyer, Archbishop of Portland (d. 1976)

Recent Posts

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  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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