Five ways to print the Propers

HE GREGORIAN CHANT PROPERS of the Roman Rite are treasures of inestimable value and so readily available. That is not to say they are easy, but the main difficulties can be 1, knowing which pieces to use when and 2, reading and interpreting the music.

In the first difficulty the easiest answer is to ask the priest who will be celebrating Mass. The second is dealt with in more detail at How to Read and Sing Gregorian Chant – eleven lessons to get you started.

Ideally choir members would do well to have their own copy of the Liber Usualis or the Liber Brevior, and know how to use them. Failing that, the person encouraging them to learn the propers can smooth the way for singers by printing copies of the propers. These can be annotated to your heart’s content.

Five different ways to print the propers:

FIRSTLY you can download and print the propers from Rene Goupil Propers here on Corpus Christi Watershed. This is mainly for Sundays. Just scroll down the desired day and download the scores as needed. This also has recordings of all the music – an amazing resource!

SECONDLY there is another similar collection at the Institute of Christ the King. As above, this one is mainly for Sundays. The main difference is that they lack translations and the music tends to be a little larger.

THIRDLY you could download and print from scans of the Liber Usualis. This may require a little more work, but has all the music you need for the majority of Missa Cantatas.

FOURTHLY you could avail yourself of the Propers Tool. The drop down menu has a list of Sundays to choose from, but also a Custom option at the bottom of the list which allows you to choose the exact piece you require for any day of the year. The default setting is to print everything on one page. This also has the added facility to reduce tunes down to psalm tones for any challenging antiphons.

LASTLY, there is GregoBase. This is a collection of all the chant from the Graduale Romanum and Liber Usualis in a database that permits volunteers to correct any discrepancies in transcription. The most straightforward way to find what you need is “by incipit” or the first few words of each piece you need. Each piece is available in a few different formats. The png format is handy for inserting into word processor files to make your own booklets.

There you have five ways to print the Latin Gregorian Chant propers for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. I hope it makes the task of bringing the Propers to life a little less daunting.