Views from the Choir Loft

An American Requiem

Andrew Leung · October 28, 2015

WO BIG DAYS are coming up. We will be celebrating the Feast of All Saints and the Commemoration for All Souls on Sunday and Monday. Both of these days are closely related to the Church, the body of Christ. On Sunday, we will celebrate the feast of the Church in Heaven with glorious and solemn music. And on Monday, we will pray for our brothers and sisters in purgatory by observing the extra sacred silence in the Liturgy. About a month ago, I uploaded a list of hymns for Catholic Funerals which you might find useful if you are planning a sung Mass on All Souls Day.

* * PDF • 32 HYMNS FOR CATHOLIC FUNERALS

WOULD LIKE TO share another great resource here. A very impressive booklet has been published online by my friends, Fr. Charles Byrd and Bridget Scott. The name of the booklet is An American Requiem. It is a guide that helps priests, musicians and the families of the deceased to plan the funeral. The booklet is not meant to be a “Church Document”, but a useful guide and explanation of the Catholic funeral. The booklet explains the spirituality of the Requiem Mass in light of the Tradition of the Church and it discusses some of the “special musical features” of the funeral. This table of content may interest you:

CTL An American Requiem Booklet 4

CTL An American Requiem Booklet 5

CTL An American Requiem Booklet 6

The PDF of the booklet is free for download:

* * PDF • AN AMERICAN REQUIEM

THINK this booklet is very well-done academically, theologically, pastorally and artistically. It is a great resource for priests and church musicians. Please feel free to email Bridget Scott if you have any feedback at: olmchoirs@gmail.com

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

About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

“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

Music Director Job • $80,000 per year

Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!

—Jeff Ostrowski

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