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Views from the Choir Loft

GIA Publications: “Painful Blessing Of A New Sensitivity”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 1, 2015

709 HYMNAL FOR THE HOURS GIA 1989 OT LONG AGO, I posted a review of the American Catholic Hymn Book. I mentioned how blatantly honest they were about their guiding principles. I also discussed their “schizophrenic” approach to the liturgy: one minute saying our liturgical tradition was corrupt, while the next using that same tradition to justify eliminating prayers to the Holy Trinity. They insisted that “competent musicians” never choose texts of poor quality; but when we opened up the book, we beheld a compilation of hideous texts alongside songs foreign to our Catholic liturgical tradition, such as “When The Saints Go Marching In.”

HYMNAL FOR THE HOURS (GIA, 1989) is not much better. The same “schizophrenia” is apparent in the Foreword where they attempt to justify, for example, avoiding an emphasis on penance during Lent while at the same time claiming to be in harmony with “centuries-old traditions” of the Church’s liturgy. They seem to be quite bothered by certain verses from the Gospel of Matthew—e.g. 23:9 and 6:6—but their efforts to eradicate Scriptural ways of referring to God were awkward.

To be honest, I don’t understand many of the lyrics in hymnals by the major publishers. Consider the fourth stanza of No. 185, published in the WORSHIP II HYMNAL (GIA, 1975):

Jesus Christ has gone to heaven;
One day he’ll be coming back, sir.
In this house he will be welcome,
but we hope he won’t be black, sir.

What was so unacceptable about the texts assigned by the Church? Why was it necessary for them to be replaced with such lyrics? I challenge anyone to thumb through a book of Propers like THIS ONE and locate a single prayer—just one!—assigned by the Church which is defective, unacceptable, or unworthy of the Church’s public worship.

Here’s proof for those who are skeptical GIA actually did publish this hymn:

705 Hymn Book GIA Worship II Hymnal 704 Hymn Book GIA Worship II Hymnal 703 Hymn Book GIA Worship II Hymnal


I’m not being “cute” here—I really have no idea what those lyrics mean. However, I do strongly agree with what GIA said in 1975:

702 Hymn Book GIA Worship II Hymnal THEE THY THINE


Unfortunately, GIA reversed course quickly thereafter. The damages of “erasing” Thee & Thine are discussed HERE.

I HAVE OFTEN MENTIONED a theory I call “learn a new word, see it within 24 hours.” The phenomenon happens to me constantly. I can’t even turn on a Glenn Gould recording in the car without immediately passing a street sign that reads: GOULD AVENUE. I suppose it’s just coincidence I am discovering all this nonsense (see above) right around the Sunday when our Church contemplates the mystery of the Trinity. So many modern hymnal editors seem to reject anything mysterious in our Faith. Yes, I suppose it must be mere coincidence…

For the record, here’s what I did to prepare for Trinity Sunday:

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Heretical GIA Hymns, Learn a new word see it within 24 hours Last Updated: November 4, 2024

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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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

On 26 July 1916—during the German occupation of Belgium—a student choir led by Van Nuffel performed his setting of the psalm “Super flumina Babylonis” in Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral. The text and the musical setting very aptly expressed the depressed and rebellious mood of the population. The acclaim was enormous, and it laid the foundation for Van Nuffel’s formation of the Saint Rumbold’s choir.

— Unknown

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