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Views from the Choir Loft

The Beauty Of Ancient Catholic Manuscripts

Jeff Ostrowski · July 6, 2015

555 codex T WOULD BE DIFFICULT to speak too highly of the ancient Catholic manuscripts being made available on the internet. What stupendous treasures!  Those who damaged our liturgy in the 1960s are heartbroken to see such things accessible to anyone with a smart phone, because more and more young Catholics can easily discover our precious heritage—and this was not supposed to happen, according to some.

Some of these manuscripts were preserved only because of their beauty. (I speak of a time in history when people did not know how to read “neumatic” musical notation correctly.) Manuscripts were usually created by (at least) two monks. One drew the pictures, and the other wrote the words and/or musical notation.

What makes SAN GALL 546 so interesting is that hundreds of pages were left incomplete, as you can see:

561 codex sang 546 560 codex 559 codex


Perhaps they never got around to finishing this manuscript? Or maybe some other cause interrupted this book’s creation, and they never finished it? Hopefully some genius out there can explain what happened by commenting on the CCW Facebook page:

558 codex 557 codex 556 codex sang 546


In that same manuscript, I noticed a hymn called “Vita Sanctorum,” which I wrote about here:

553 vita sanctorum

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Medieval Manuscripts Last Updated: August 14, 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

    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

He stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year-old member of his family a cardinal and subsidize a nephew from the papal treasury.

— Re: Pope Saint Pius V (d. 1572)

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