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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

Composition Contest

Fr. David Friel · September 11, 2016

ORE THAN THIRTY years ago, the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul in my native Philadelphia was a rallying point for an important musical association in its infancy. In those days, our cathedral and seminary music programs were led by the great Dr. Peter LaManna, whose illustrious career earned him the moniker ”Mr. Church Music.”

In 1983, in collaboration with Gerald Muller and Richard Proulx, LaManna set out to form a professional organization that would bring together cathedral musicians from across the country. In November 1984 (ten months before I was born!), seventeen choir directors from cathedrals across America gathered in Philadelphia for the first meeting of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (CRCCM).

In the intervening years, the CRCCM has grown significantly in membership, held annual conferences, and made several significant statements on issues related to sacred musicianship.

One of the special projects of CRCCM in recent years has been a Composition Contest. This year’s contest is especially interesting, because it seeks submissions that set the entrance and communion antiphons (with their verses) for the ordination of priests.

It is very encouraging that this contest is focusing on music for proper texts of the sacred liturgy. This not only focuses our attention on the propers for an occasion at which propers are rarely heard, but it will also provide practical resources to sing proper texts that have rarely been set to music.

Full details of the competition are available here. The deadline is October 30, 2016, and the cash award is $2000 to the winning composer.

Could that composer be among our readers?

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hymns Replacing Propers, Missal Antiphons Dont Match Roman Gradual, Proper of the Mass in English, Propers, Singing the Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and 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

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

“Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another… It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. […] Men may go to Protestant Churches and to Catholic, may get good from both and belong to neither.”

— Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman (May of 1879)

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