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Views from the Choir Loft

Communion Antiphons for Advent & Christmas • NEW • World Library Publications

Richard J. Clark · August 26, 2016

ORLD LIBRARY Publications, the music and liturgy division of J. S. Paluch Company, Inc. has recently released my collection of Communion Antiphons for Christmas. These nine antiphons are set to the English translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, with verses according to the Graduale Romanum.

• You may also learn about and listen to my Communion Antiphons for Advent here.

Scores are available in hard copies or for digital download:

Order • View sample pages and order PDF or Octavo:
Octavo • “Communion Antiphons for Christmas” (for SATB Choir, Cantor, Assembly, Organ, Trumpet)

• All are chant based including quotes of Puer natus est nobis and the Mode I Ave Maria.
• May be sung with cantor or unison schola or optional SATB
• Several include optional vocal and trumpet descants.

BE SURE TO LISTEN to recordings here directed by Paul French, Director of the William Ferris Chorale and Music Director of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Chicago. You can hear six of the nine antiphons here. (Each antiphon has several more verses than are recorded here.)

*Note the two options for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: Rejoice, O Daughter Zion (Exsulta fiIia Sion) is prescribed for the Mass at Dawn in the Roman Missal. It is also is prescribed also for the Solemnity of Mary in the Graduale Romanum.

HY SING THE PROPERS AT ALL? Forget GIRM 87 that gives singing the antiphons from the Roman Missal or Grandulae Romanum the highest preference. Forget the tradition of the propers being integral to the Roman Rite for well over a millennium. Forget that Sing to the Lord: Music In Divine Worship (SttL) gives singing the antiphons and psalms very high priority.

But remember the wisdom of the faithful who came before us. What matters most is that the antiphons and psalms we sing during communion most always point us back to the Gospel. Often they are from the Gospel itself or another reading. The psalms, which are just as important as the antiphons, shed deeper light upon the sacred mysteries and the Gospel. These scriptures amplify our prayer while receiving the Bread of Life.

I could go on for many pages, but I leave you with this simple story:

The best note I ever received on this topic came from a woman who probably knows nothing about the antiphons, the GIRM, or the rubrics. But she knows prayer and she knows her heart. She said “Isn’t it wonderful to sing the Gospel while receiving the Eucharist!”

This kind of intuitive understanding is born of the wisdom of the ages—from many faithful who came before us. This above all is why we sing the Mass.

Consciously or not, the scriptures sung in the antiphons and psalms touch the heart. Live daily with the Word, and we will be transformed.

Soli Deo gloria

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Propers, World Library Publications Last Updated: December 4, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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    Requesting Our Advent Eucharistic Hymn
    A young lady named Agnes wrote to us: “Dear Mr. Ostrowski, do you have the PDF score for Ave Corpus Domini set to the ADVENT melody? Last year, we sang the hymn tune “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland” quite a bit using your contrafactum technique. My choir appreciates the Latin hymns and practice videos, especially in the ADVENT and CHRISTMAS seasons. Your recent article on Gregorian Psalm Tones is a great help to my organist brother, and reminds us of attending VESPERS years ago when we lived in California. Thank you so much for all the effort put into providing these wonderful resources!”   Agnes, if you are listening! Yes, the PDF file you desire can be downloaded for free at the Brébeuf Portal via this URL link. Thanks for writing to us!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
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    The Vice-President of the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz (who also serves as Director of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Detroit) sent us an email yesterday regarding the harmonizations (PDF) I composed for the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. Dr. Buchholz says: “Those settings are absolutely exquisite, as I'm used to when it comes from you. Bravo! Well done! Now, as a sequel, if you could write something for accompanying psalms in English that would be awesome.”
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    In the month of November, we remember in a special way the souls in purgatory. The BRÉBEUF HYMNAL often includes text alone versions for its hymns; why is that? The short answer is: flexibility. The “text only” version allows each choirmaster to employ a myriad of melodies. For example, I recently set the English translation of “De Profúndis” with the DAVOST MELODY (PDF). We are singing this before November ends. Indeed, you can hear our volunteer singing this (in real life) if you click here.
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Random Quote

“Oh, the happy choir director who is hired to start work on a brand new choir, or who walks into his first rehearsal a total stranger to the existing group—what a fortunate man he is! The new choir director who is a former member of the choir, or a member of the congregation, or the nephew of the alto soloist, or a former altar boy, or otherwise well acquainted with the choir, is in for a few headaches.”

— Paul Hume (1956)

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