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Views from the Choir Loft

First Instance of “Alius Cantus Aptus”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 21, 2016

HE HOLY WEEK REVISIONS of Pope Pius XII could be looked at as the beginning of liturgical deformation that would happen later. 1 This was true for a variety of reasons. For example, it introduced the notion—which was quite serious—that a committee could get together for meetings, “fix” the liturgy, then impose these changes on the entire church. Before that point, the Church had basically allowed the liturgy to grow organically. Another key concept was introduced which we’ve mentioned numerous times: ALIUS CANTUS CONGRUUS. László Dobszay referred to alius cantus as “anthrax in the envelope” of post-conciliar decrees.

This is not to say there were no choices whatsoever involved in the Tridentine Mass. If you look carefully, you will occasionally find a tiny little option here or there—but this has nothing to do with replacing the Propers 99% of the time, which is the situation in most Ordinary Form churches and contradicts what Vatican II wanted.

Anyhow, buried in one of the pages of the ORDO HEBDOMADAE SANCTAE we find this rubric:

248 Ordo Hebdomadae Sanctae ALIUS CANTUS


Nihil impedit, quominus cantetur a fidelibus hymnus Christus vincit, vel alius cantus in honorem Christi Regis. Translated into English, that means:

“The faithful may also sing the hymn CHRISTUS VINCIT or any other chant in honour of Christ the King.”

That’s the first time I know of “alius cantus aptus,” which would become the favorite phrase of the Consilium. In English, it means “anything else appropriate.”

AS FAR AS THE OFFICIAL BOOKS ARE CONCERNED, the liturgical progressives lost the battle over Mass facing the people. The Ordinary Form rubrics assume that priest & congregation will face the same direction for certain parts of the Mass. Robert Cardinal Sarah—appointed by Pope Francis as prefect of the CDW—recently confirmed this:

“In my capacity as the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, I continue to remind all that the celebration toward the East (versus orientem) is authorized by the rubrics of the missal, which specify the moments when the celebrant must turn toward the people.”

However, they eventually won the “alius cantus” battle, at least in terms of what is allowed by the rubrics.

N.B. Two other random facts: Kyrie IX is assigned as an option for Holy Thursday. (I knew about Kyrie IV, but not Kyrie IX.) Also, the monastic version of the ORDO HEBDOMADAE SANCTAE is 500 pages long!



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Before he died, Archbishop Bugnini himself admitted this, calling it “the first breach.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Alius Cantus Aptus, Alius Cantus Congruus Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Jeff Ostrowski

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

6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski
2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski
31 December 2020 • “COMITES CHRISTI”

The feasts for Saint Stephen Proto-Martyr (26 December), Saint John the Evangelist The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (27 December), and the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December) seem untouched by any liturgical reforms. These are very powerful feasts—I believe they once possessed octaves—and I believe they could sometimes “overpower” a Sunday feast. The rules for octaves in the olden days are extremely complex. These feasts are sometimes referred to as a single entity as: Comites Christi (“Companions of Christ”). This is just a guess, but there seems to be a triple significance: STEPHEN martyred after Christ lived, JOHN was a martyr who knew Christ personally, and the HOLY INNOCENTS were martyred before Christ’s birth.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

No concession should ever be made for the singing of the Exultet, in whole or in part, in the vernacular.

— ‘Fr. Augustin Bea, S.J. in the years immediately before the Second Vatican Council’

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