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Views from the Choir Loft

A Special “Gaudeamus” For 31 May

Jeff Ostrowski · May 7, 2016

HE FOLLOWING is a special version of the “Gaudeamus” (one of my favorite chants) and will be sung for a Solemn Mass offered by our District Superior on 31 May in Los Angeles. You are invited to attend, and we’d love to see you there.


If you visit the St. Goupil website, you can download the musical score.

Some believe the “translation mess” is the result of Vatican II, but that’s not entirely true. In the 1940s, Pope Pius XII approved a new translation of the Psalter for use in the Divine Office. As far as I know, he didn’t approve new antiphons, so the clerics would use one translation for the antiphon and another for the psalm, even when the psalm contained the antiphon. I’ve spoken to many priests (ordained in the 1940s and 1950s) who have a very low opinion on the Pius XII psalter. To them, it was an artless “piece of garbage” that had no value. My understanding is that Pius XII never imposed this new translation on the Church.

What’s interesting is that the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary—created in the 1950s—replaces the psalm verse for “Gaudeamus” with the Pius XII translation. It’s strange to modify such an ancient chant. Moreover, when that same verse is used for the votive Mass, they did not change it:

521 31 May GAUDEAMUS


Nobody has been able to explain why they would change the verse in one ancient chant but not the other. In early February, I emailed several priests about this topic. 1 Here’s a response by one:

Dear Jeff:

Stranger things have happened, and are happening. Years ago I wrote to the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, asking them why the Gospel for the Last Sunday of Pentecost (Matthew 24: 15-35) was nowhere to be found in the NOVUS ORDO lectionary. Believe me, it isn’t there. They eventually wrote back and agreed with me, saying that I was right and that it might possibly be included in some future edition of the lectionary. So far I don’t think this has happened.

Also, I Corinthians 11: 27-29 (about receiving the Eucharist unworthily) is not found in the NOVUS ORDO lectionary! Is it any wonder that so many Catholics go to Communion, but never go to confession?

With regard to your original question, I know they tried to use the Pius XII psalter for new Feasts, e.g. the feast of St. Pius X.

Here’s how the feast appeared in a Solesmes book from 1957. Notice the antiphon for II Vespers is “Beata Mater,” which is the cantus firmus for our 31 May Solemn Mass.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   All of them were ordained in the 1950s and all have advanced degrees in Latin.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Sacred Music Symposium 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —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

Indeed I might add that although unfamiliar with it myself, the Extraordinary Form expressly reminds us that Mass in either form is not merely a communion meal but a ritual of love, a sacrifice at Calvary, by which, for you and for me, yes, here and now, Jesus Christ lays down his life.

— ‘Most Rev. Philip Egan, Bishop of Portsmouth’

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