PDF Download • St. Cecilia Hymnal (1937)

AM CURRENTLY working on a hymnal project, which—among other things—entails pouring through thousands of pages from old Catholic hymnals. Some hymns I discover are sentimental and low quality, while others are quite inspiring. Whenever possible, I’ll share these books with our readers.

Some of our planned releases will astound you! On the other hand, some books are interesting primarily from a Catholic historian’s point of view, and the following probably falls into that category:

    * *  PDF • SAINT CECILIA HYMNAL (1937)

Like all the books we release, this extremely rare hymnal was previously unavailable until we placed it online. If you appreciate books like those we’ve placed in the Lalande Library or our Hymnnal Tome, please consider donating $5.00 per month, using the button on the upper right called “DONATE.”

I WAS TOUCHED by the inscription J. Alfred Schehl placed inside his 1927 (1937) hymnal:

In loving memory of My Mother
who first taught me many of the melodies
contained in this volume,
and whose love of the true and beautiful
was always an inspiration,
this work is dedicated.

My favorite hymns are often those I learned as a child; and I’m sure most of you feel the same!

Schehl’s book certainly contains hymns I had not previously known, such as the following text:

You might want to explore the (somewhat bizarre) “Short and Easy Mass” purportedly arranged from a Saint Gall chant by Oswald Joos:

Like most other hymnals from this period, the book contains a fair amount of plainsong with accompaniment, such as “Asperges Me,” Mass VIII, etc.