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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

“To Sing With The Angels” • A History Of The Twin Cities Catholic Chorale

Guest Author · March 5, 2016

709 SING with HIS IS A SIGNATURE VOLUME chronicling the history of the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale, founded in 1955 by Father (later Monsignor) Richard J. Schuler. The Chorale is now in its 42nd season of singing with professional orchestra the great Classical and Romantic Masses of composers like Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert, as a part of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated in Latin at the Church of Saint Agnes in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

    * *  Option 1 • Saint Cecilia Publications

    * *  Option 2 • Amazon.com

This book also recounts the important role that Monsignor Schuler played in the area of sacred music in the post-Vatican II Church. It was his heroic commitment, through word and deed, to the authentic implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s document on music and liturgy, that helped keep the patrimony of Catholic sacred music alive in the United States for a new Renaissance. When Monsignor Schuler was accused of living in the past, he often said that he was rather forty years ahead of the times. And he is being proven correct!

About this book, Fr. Robert Skeris has written:

T IS NOT ONLY OCTOGENARIANS who are aware that the concluding decades of the XXth century were an era of rapid world-wide changes affecting every area of human life. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council was one of the chief agents of profound changes, and that not only in the area of religious belief. The Sacred Synod neither proclaimed any new dogma nor abrogated any defined Truth of the Faith. Yet it had an enormous impact upon the prayer and worship life of Roman rite Catholics. For instance, countless buildings, from simple chapels to parish churches and even cathedrals, suffered great damage to their interior arrangements and appointments. In too many instances, this resulted in significant cultural losses. Though the artistic heritage of Catholic sacred music was acknowledged and encouraged—also on solid theological grounds!—as a treasure of inestimable worth, THESAURUM PRETII INAESTIMABILIS, indeed an integral part of solemn worship, five decades after the last Council the musical tradition of the universal Church has in fact been eliminated from Catholic sanctuaries and choir lofts in the course of the paradigm shift which followed the Council ….except at the Church of Saint Agnes in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This books explains how and why that happened. Vade, et tu fac similiter!  (Lk 10/37).


We hope you enjoyed this guest article by Virginia A. Schubert, PhD.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
    This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
    Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.
    —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

“To suggest, even loosely, that Catholics walk a more or less similar path to God as other religions drains martyrdom of its meaning. Why give up your life for Christ when other paths may get us to the same God? Such a sacrifice would be senseless.”

— Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
  • Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
  • Installment #3 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

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