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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

Does Gregorian Chant Work In English?

Jeff Ostrowski · May 4, 2016

525 King David Psalter OME CLAIM the darkest period for plainsong in Catholic churches was the 1980s, and it would be difficult to argue with them. Growing up in the late ’80s and early ’90s, I can assure you that my large (rich) parish was innocent of even the thought of Gregorian chant. During those dark years, several journals dealing with early music published articles with misguided titles like: “Which is more important in Gregorian chant: Words or Music?”

These authors felt one must “win” and the other must “lose.” They were at a disadvantage because they only knew the laws of more recent composers—Baroque, Classical, and so forth—who treated the text a certain way. Trying to make sense out of plainsong, many concluded the words must win. Yet, had they looked more carefully, they would have discovered thousands of passages which don’t fit their a priori theory:

    * *  PDF Download • Demonstration on the Gregorian Tonic Accent

In other words, Gregorian composers often treated the text as a whole, not as individual syllables. Dom Gajard said it best in 1950:

“One does not compose in order to set every word to music, but in order to translate into music a single idea expressed in a number of words. In a musical phrase, each element is a part of the whole and must take its own place in that whole: for instance, the word coeli in SANCTUS IX, or the word Domini in the BENEDICTUS of Mass XI, and so forth. Here, the melodic line must be given first place, according to the ancient adage: Musica non subjacet regulis Donati.”

A student of Roger Wagner put it this way: “Gregorian rhythm is inherently musical in nature.”

MOST PLAINSONG SETTINGS now appearing in English favor the “Baroque method” of tonic accent treatment. In my opinion, that’s just fine—because plainsong examples can be found to support such an approach. (Remember, the Gregorian corpus is mammoth, and developed over a millennium.) However, I believe that as time goes on, composers who adapt Gregorian chant into the vernacular will begin to dig deeper into the authentic plainsong repertoire. A desire will form in their hearts to “steal” the mysterious, spiritual, sophisticated, unpredictable technique of the Gregorian composers. As the decades roll on, we will begin to see English settings which look more like the examples in that chart (see above).

I’m old enough to remember when composers were afraid to adapt Gregorian chant because the GIRM seemed to imply that approval by the local bishop is required. On 20 November 2012, the Bishops’ Liturgy Committee stated publicly what had been happening behind closed doors for half a century. Specifically, they said that—according to them—certain parts of the GIRM can be ignored. While I personally disagree with their interpretation, I’m glad that what’s been happening for 50 years has finally been acknowledged publicly.

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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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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President’s Corner

    17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025, which is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down.” The COMMUNION ANTIPHON—both text and melody—are particularly beautiful and exceedingly ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Errors in Latin: “17th Sund. Ordinary”
    The COMMUNION for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) contains several typos in the Jogues Illuminated Missal with regard to the Latin text. That particular COMMUNION ANTIPHON is extremely ancient, and the English Adaptation is utterly gorgeous. For the record, it’s normal for books to contain typos; even books by Father Fortescue and Monsignor Knox have errors. Books by Solesmes Abbey—surely among the finest ever produced—contain many printing errors. Click here to see a few examples of typos.
    —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 Princess of the Palatinate once described German Protestantism to Louis XIV with this formula: “In our country, everyone makes up his own little religion.” Every priest, or almost every priest, is at this point today. All the faithful have to say is “Amen.” They are still blessed when the pastor’s religion does not change every Sunday, at the whim of his reading, the foolery he has seen others at, or at his own pure fancy.

— Professor Louis Bouyer (1968)

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