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Views from the Choir Loft

Liturgy And Diversity

Christopher Mueller · September 7, 2015

330 liturgical Chris EVERAL YEARS AGO, I had the very good fortune to have several lengthy conversations with the Director of Music at a cathedral in the United States. This church has an astonishing music program, featuring a world-class children’s choir and professional schola. Each week at the principal Mass of the cathedral, the schola sings chant and polyphony, including the day’s propers (in Latin chant), a full Mass Ordinary (typically Renaissance polyphony, also in Latin), and motets at Offertory and Communion (to follow the chanted propers). The children join them on much of this music (particularly the polyphony).

I thought of these conversations as I perused this thread at the Musica Sacra Forum. The question under discussion is whether a choral Ordinary (that is, an Ordinary sung solely by the choir) is in keeping with the Church’s guidelines on how to celebrate the Ordinary Form. Many think that choral Ordinaries are to be eschewed, because the congregation doesn’t have anything “to do” while the choir provides music for the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus & Agnus Dei.

His answer was very surprising to me, and I thought it both prudential and catholic. He said, “We do a choral Ordinary each week because we can. We are the only Catholic church in the state with the resources to offer the Mass in this manner, and so we do. We don’t prescribe it as normative, and we only do it at a single Mass each weekend. We offer it as a way that the Mass can be celebrated, not as the way that it should be celebrated.” In essence, he provides the Catholic community a greater diversity of liturgical experience by having one Mass per weekend which features some of the most beautiful music man has created, intended for the glory of God and the edification of the faithful. And every week at this Mass, the church is full.

I found his reasoning to be prudent: putting the stewardship of the faithful to wonderful use in service of the Holy Mass. I also found it to be catholic, in the meaning of that word as “universal.” The musical treasures of the church, “greater even than that of any other art” (SC 112), are universal and timeless, just as precious and beautiful today as when they were created. Beauty is one path by which God opens our hearts and leads us to Himself; let us rejoice wherever the church’s music effects this.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Latin Mass Musical Diversity Last Updated: May 29, 2021

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About Christopher Mueller

Christopher Mueller is a conductor and composer who aims to write beautiful music out of gratitude to God, Author of all beauty.—(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

The effectiveness of liturgy does not lie in experimenting with rites and altering them over and over, nor in a continuous reductionism, but solely in entering more deeply into the word of God and the mystery being celebrated. It is the presence of these two that authenticates the Church’s rites, not what some priest decides, indulging his own preferences.

— Liturgicae Instaurationes (1970)

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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.

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