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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “New Westminster Hymnal” (1939)

Jeff Ostrowski · March 7, 2016

ERE’S THE FOURTH PART in a series I’m creating to convince readers to donate $5.00 per month. Scroll down to access the other installments. By the way, the fifth installment (forthcoming) will make you very happy! [By the way, if you have not already done so, please do yourself a huge favor and check out the Brébeuf hymnal by Sophia Institute Press.]

All 452 pages of NEW WESTMINSTER HYMNAL—one of the most remarkable ever Catholic hymnals ever produced—has been made available for the first time:

* *  PDF Download • NEW WESTMINSTER HYMNAL (1939)
—Document scanned and uploaded by Corpus Christi Watershed.

If you value rare books like this one, please consider donating $5.00 per month. Watershed is a 100% volunteer organization; none of us is paid. Without your support, we cannot continue.

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL about hymn books like this? For one thing, it contains numerous Gregorian accompaniments by Dom Gregory Murray. (You can compare Murray’s version of “Corde Natus Ex Parentis” to mine.) This is to say nothing of the excellent hymn texts by Msgr. Ronald Knox and others. Moreover, interesting pairings abound. Consider, for example, Number 32, which takes my favorite Lenten hymn and adds a text by Alan McDougall, whose poetry was prominent in the Campion Hymnal.

Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966) has this to say about the work of Msgr. Ronald Knox on the NEW WESTMINSTER HYMNAL:

At the Low Week meeting of the hierarchy in 1936, Ronald had been appointed to a committee to revise the WESTMINSTER HYMNAL. Some converts from Protestantism repine at their lost opportunities for congregational singing. Indeed, many adult English Catholics do not hear a hymn from one year’s end to another. Ronald attributed this silence to the low literary quality of many Catholic hymns. He took the work of revision very seriously, and his taste—more than that of any other individual—pervaded the committee, whose deliberations were protracted for two years. He attended every meeting, succeeded in introducing several hymns from Catholic sources which had previously been known only to those who used the ENGLISH HYMNAL, and the work of comparatively modern poets such as Francis Thompson, G. K. Chesterton, Lionel Johnson, Canon Gray, and “Michael Field.” More than this, he made 47 translations from the Latin (out of a total of 106, only 9 of which were by living writers) and contributed 4 original hymns. The new book bears his personal marks clearly; it was issued in 1940 and cordially welcomed by informed critics. Catholic parishes are slow to change their habits. They still sing what the oldest members learned at school. A full generation must pass before the innovations, so patiently debated, are allowed to fulfil their work of enrichment.

This article is part of a series:

PART 1 • Simple SATB Kyrie by Guerrero

PART 2 • 1913 Woodward Hymnal … Outrageously Rare!

PART 3 • Rehearsal videos for Lenten Hymn

PART 4 • New Westminster Hymnal … For the first time ever!

PART 5 • Rehearsal Videos for Forty-Three (43) Pieces

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: August 18, 2021

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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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    PDF • “For the Season of Pentecost”
    During the season of Pentecost, you might consider using this 2-page Piece “for the season of Pentecost.” Rehearsal videos are available at #40691, but the lyrics are different. Therefore, make sure your choir members understand that one can rehearse songs that have different lyrics (“CONTRAFACT”).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • (This Coming Sunday)
    Our volunteer choir appreciates training videos, so here's my attempt at recording “Exáudi Dómine Vocem Meam,” which is the INTROIT for this coming Sunday. This coming Sunday is Dominica Post Ascensionem (“Sunday after the feast of the Ascension”). It is sung according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Volunteer Choir Attempts “Kýrie Eléison”
    My volunteer choir attempted the polyphonic KYRIE that will be sung at this year's Sacred Music Symposium. If you're interested, you can listen to the live recording from last Sunday. The piece is based on the ancient plainchant hymn melody: Ave Maris Stella. Polyphony like this is truly intricate and wonderful. It reminds me of the quote by Artur Schnabel: “music that's greater than it can be performed.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The recitation of the Office of the Dead, the Christmas Office, the spectacle of the days of Holy Week, the sublime chant of the Exultet, beside which the most intoxicating accents of Sophocles and Pindar seemed to me to be insignificant—all of this overwhelmed me with respect and joy, with gratitude, repentance, and adoration!”

— Paul Claudel (1913)

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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.