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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Hymns Of The Roman Liturgy” (Rev. Joseph Connelly, 1955)

Jeff Ostrowski · April 27, 2015

HOSE INTERESTED in hymns will want to download this extremely famous (yet rare) book by Fr. Joseph Connelly, which we make available online for the first time ever. This is being done as part of the preparation for an exciting Catholic hymnal that’s being created. Connelly’s work includes 154 hymns, chiefly from the Breviary. The hymns are given in Latin, along with English translations and commentary:

* *  PDF Download • Rev. Joseph Connelly HYMNS

This is a good book to have as a reference, although Msgr. Schmitt is correct when he says that Father Matthew Britt’s work 1 is even more valuable.

Msgr. Francis P. Schmitt mentioned Connelly’s work in the Spring of 1964 while talking about the liturgical changes in the wake of the Second Vatican Council:

The New Breviaries :

E CARRY NO REVIEW of the two Englished breviaries, partly because we haven’t received any (and don’t intend to buy any) and partly because some might think, as the publishers must, that such a review would be clean out of our domain. But we might be permitted to say a word about the hymns of the breviary—that other lingering vestige of sung common—and not necessarily monastic prayer. We can say it quickly, since we have seen only reviews and blurb samples. One review, which is also used as a blurb, waxes ecstatic over the fact that the translation used is from Father Connelly’s altogether worthwhile work, Hymns of the Roman Liturgy. The reviewer liked these especially because they were not in hymn form. The unfortunate samples cited in the blurb make less sense in English than the Latin originals would to a North Korean. No slight to Father Connelly’s valuable work (but not as valuable as Britt’s)—he makes it plain in his forward that the translations were added as an afterthought, without much scholarly concern, as a help to those who pressed him for this addition. Little could he have thought then that these addenda would one day become official vernacular “hymns.”

Readers are probably sick of me saying this, but the writings of Msgr. Schmitt are extremely valuable and interesting to church musicians who wish to know what life was like in the early years following the Council. For instance, read what Msgr. Schmitt has to say here.

Taken in 1945, this is the only photograph I have seen of Father Joseph Connelly, courtesy of Vincent James Byrne:

Father Joseph Connelly served as Dean of Music and Professor of Plainchant at St. Mary’s Seminary, New Oscott, Birmingham (1934-1956) according to The Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   The 1922 masterpiece by Fr. Matthew Britt, OSB, is called Hymns of the Breviary and Missal. It is readily available; just search Google.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: June 19, 2021

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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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

But the revisers did not leave them altogether untouched. Saint Ambrose had to be “corrected.” The Iste confessor was greatly altered and the hymn for the Dedication of a Church, which no one ought to have touched, was in fact completely recast in a new meter.

— Father Joseph Connelly

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