Corpus Christi Watershed

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

Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download: Standard Catholic Hymnal (1921)

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449 Standard Catholic Hymnal HE RARE HYMNALS we have been releasing all have one thing in common: None were available as a PDF download before we scanned & posted them. They’re absolutely fascinating from a historical perspective, and we’re searching through them to find any “hidden gems” for the forthcoming Brébeuf Hymnal. Here’s one compiled, edited, and arranged by James A. Reilly in 1921:

      * *  PDF: Standard Catholic Hymnal (1921)

Published by McLaughlin & Reilly (“Publishers of Catholic Church Music Exclusively”), it bears a 1921 Imprimatur by William Cardinal O’Connell, who had published his own hymnal in 1915. It’s no accident that the very first hymn in Reilly’s book is by Cardinal O’Connell.

Much could be said about this book, but for now I’ll mention just one thing. I was intrigued by the note written underneath John Henry Cardinal Newman’s hymn (#130):

This hymn is not approved by church music commissions in some dioceses due to its association with Protestant Services.

I hope you enjoy perusing this book as much as I did, friends!

P.S.

In the Brébeuf Hymnal, I hope something can be done with the amazing hymn A SOLIS ORTUS CARDINE and its 2nd part, CRUDELIS HERODES. This poem is so beautiful, yet so few Catholics know anything about it.

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