• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

A hymnal in e-book format

Veronica Brandt · June 6, 2015

Gloria a Latin Hymnal OU MAY HAVE ALREADY SUNG from an electronic copy of the Liber Usualis. It was most likely a PDF, or perhaps you have the fancy Liber Pro app from iTunes.

Or you may have a collection of electronic copies of old hymnbooks already lying around the corners of your computer’s hard drive.

Most PDF books are simply scanned images. They can be slow to load and clunky to navigate. A better way might be to combe images of the music with regular text which can set out section headings, translations and explanations.

Enter the Gloria Latin Hymnal: 100 Traditional Latin Hymns in Gregorian Notation with English Translations by Patrimonium Publishing. It is a regular ebook available through Amazon combining images of Gregorian chant typeset with gregorio following each piece with an English translation in plain text.

There are lots of old favorites as well as a surprising number of pieces I have never heard before. How many of you have sung the Memorare? How about O Sanctissima in Gregorian notation? The sources include Cantus Mariales from 1903 by Dom Pothier, which must be where many of these gems come from.

If you are a blithe owner of a Kindle or not concerned with the details of typographical layout, feel free to stop reading here and go check out a free sample from Amazon.

The really impressive thing here is the technical juggling involved in preparing music for such a limited medium. It is crazy enough to try formatting a hymnal for a printed page, but for a format designed for flowing pages of uninterrupted text is quite a challenge.

The compiler, Michael Phillips, carefully tailored the book for a regular Kindle device. He chose the breaks in the music to allow enough space for the translation to fit on a 6” screen. That is probably a good median size to cater for, but on other devices the page dimensions change and the pictures and text act differently to fill the new space.

Here is how it looks on my cell phone:


laguentibus small text A page from the Gloria Hymnal on a phone.

Turning the phone on its side enlarges the music, but leaves no room for the translation, which overflows into its own page.

On the big screen the music becomes much clearer, but the translation shrinks relative to the music.


languentibus one page The same hymn on a large computer monitor.

You can change the text size setting in your ebook viewer as you wish. My picky side wants to fiddle with the default margin around the images, but I know this could upset how it works on other devices. Maybe, with time, Amazon will adjust their Cloud Reader to better adapt their ebooks for desktops. I don’t know, but I think I can live with it, especially as I get more absorbed in the actual content of the hymnal.

The reviews claim that all these hymns can be listened to by searching for recordings online. I’m not in a position to test that claim properly, but I would love to try.

I will be dipping into this little book for many months to come.

Maybe I’ll even get myself a Kindle.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Abbot Joseph Pothier of Solesmes, Cantus Mariales, Dom Pothier Cantus Mariales, Gregorio, Hymnbooks Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted: “What Martin Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest) was an apostate and infamous heretic whose ignorance of the True Faith was only outdone by his disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

“Many other things most justly keep me in the bosom [of the Catholic Church]. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep, down to the present episcopate.”

— Saint Augustine (Epistle against Manichaeus)

Recent Posts

  • “What Martin Luther Said…”
  • “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Worship the Lord in Holy Attire
  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up