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Views from the Choir Loft

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 1 of 7

Andrew R. Motyka · April 15, 2015

921 Samuel Weber Proper English Ignatius Press ATHER SAMUEL WEBER’S new resource, The Proper of the Mass for Sundays and Solemnities, may not be a game-changer in its novelty, but its execution sets an extremely high bar for those of us interested in the musical proper of the Mass. The usefulness of this book to the average 1 choir is evident even at first glance.   (View Images)

As its title suggests, this is a full set of the Proper of the Mass for each Sunday of the liturgical year. What sets this book apart, however, is the approach which Fr. Weber took in his treatment of each psalm. He is undoubtedly one of the modern masters of setting English chant.

Most propers in the book have four (!) different settings:

1. A MELISMATIC SETTING (sample video) that is not a direct transcription of the Gregorian original, but quotes it extensively, making modifications to elucidate the English text rather than the Latin.

2. A SIMPLIFIED SETTING (sample video) of the above, which is through-composed but much more accessible to singers who are not quite as strong at chanting. I would say these are comparable to the Graduale Simplex in their difficulty.

3. A GREGORIAN PSALM TONE (sample video) setting of the text.

4. AN ENGLISH PSALM TONE (sample video) setting of the text.

Overall, I would say this is the closest thing I have seen to an English spiritual descendent of the Graduale Romanum. Furthermore, each setting contains several psalm verses. These are extremely useful since they are not printed in the Latin Gradual (just the Scriptural citations). Being so closely adapted from the Gregorian originals, these “smell” of the liturgy, which is always a good thing. Recalling Pope Saint John Paul II’s statement that the sacrality and liturgical appropriateness of a piece can be judged by comparing it to the Gregorian form, we have here a strong contender.

What does this mean for your choir (and mine)? For me, it adds yet another option for singing the Proper of the Mass, which is something I am always on the lookout for. At my parish, we use a combination of St. Meinrad psalm tones, hymn settings of the Introit texts, chants from the Simple English Propers, my own Communion settings, and settings from the Graduale Romanum as rehearsal time permits. Fr. Weber’s new book is one I will gladly add to the above, in any iteration of the text.


This book could actually be a great way to teach a beginning schola how to chant from Gregorian notation. By beginning with the simplest settings, one could easily introduce the early concepts of mode, neumes, and the style of proclamation, gradually (get it?) progressing to the more ornamental settings. This book is not only useful as a liturgical resource, but a pedagogical one.

We here at Views from the Choir Loft will have a lot more to say about this wonderful resource in the coming days, and all of it will be deserved. It calls for three cheers from the liturgical music community.

This article is part of a series on Fr. Weber’s Book of Propers:

Part 1 • Andrew Motyka

Part 2 • Richard Clark

Part 3 • Veronica Brandt

Part 4 • Fr. David Friel

Part 5 • Andrew Leung

Part 6 • Dr. Lucas Tappan

Part 7 • Jeff Ostrowski



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Or above average, or even advanced!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Proper of the Mass in English, Propers Ignatius Press by Fr Samuel Weber Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“It will not be Rome to tell you what you should do, no: because you have the charism. …you have the Holy Spirit for this. If Rome were to begin to make the decisions it would be a blow to the Holy Spirit, who works in the particular Churches.”

— Pope Francis (27 March 2023)

Recent Posts

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  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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