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Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • Extremely Rare Hymnal (1952)

Jeff Ostrowski · September 28, 2015

249 Sancta Missa HANKS to Corpus Christi Watershed, many Catholic hymnals have been made available for free & instant download. Several of these—such as Westminster’s DAILY HYMN BOOK—are incredibly valuable. Others are interesting mainly from a historical point of view. 1

The following probably falls into the latter category, but I still think you’ll enjoy it:

    * *  PDF • CANTATE OMNES HYMNAL (1952)

Will you help us continue our work? I have more hymnals I’d like to upload—including rare English hymnals I bet you’ve never seen—but we need your help.

A young lady here in Los Angeles is willing to scan these books, but I can’t ask her to do it for free.

    * *  Donate to Watershed

There’s a $5.00-per-month, $7.00-per-month, $10.00-per-month, and so forth.

Of course hymnals are only part of our work. None of our contributors—including myself—is paid a salary. But when our website malfunctions (for example) that costs money. You already know about the wonderful blog articles by our authors and probably noticed improvements to GoupilChant. However, there’s another project I’d like to complete if we can get enough monthly donors, and I just know you’ll love it! (That’s all I can reveal at this time.)

ALLOW ME TO MENTION just one more project. We’ve been creating rehearsal videos—about 25 so far—to assist choirs. Our goal is to eventually create about 150. To demonstrate what I mean, let me show you a lovely piece by (surprise!) Fr. Carlo Rossini:

    * *  PDF Download • Rev. Carlo Rossini “VERBUM SUPERNUM”

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube   •   Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube   •   Audio

ALTO : YouTube   •   Audio

TENOR : YouTube   •   Audio

BASS : YouTube   •   Audio

If you don’t like the breath marks, you can ignore them. 2




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   The group who created the Cantate Omnes Hymnal still exists, and asserts on their website: “In the 1950s, our founders published the Cantate Omnes Hymnal—the first vernacular hymnal for Catholics in the United States.” In light of the link I mentioned above, this statement is absurd.

2   Anyone who has ever directed choirs in real life realizes there’s no such thing as “correct” breath marks. Breaths will depend on numerous factors: skill of the singers; acoustics of the building; tempo; contrapuntal considerations; number of singers; and so forth. A great singer like Matthew J. Curtis is capable of things an amateur singer is not. It’s kind of like the edition of Bach containing fingerings by Hans Bischoff. These can be quite valuable; yet some pianists ignore them—and that’s just fine.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Roman Catholic Hymnals Last Updated: January 13, 2020

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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

    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Contradictions place us at the foot of the Cross, and the Cross places us at the gates of Heaven.” (Saint John Mary Vianney)

— Cardinal Merry del Val’s Prayer-Book

Recent Posts

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  • Why A “Fugue” Here?
  • “Three Reasons To Shun Bad Hymns” • Daniel B. Marshall
  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”

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