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Views from the Choir Loft

Gregorian chant is not all the same

Veronica Brandt · November 12, 2016

the selfish giant LOVE THE CHANCE TO BRING CHANT TO a wider audience. I love that the director of our parish Christmas play has asked us to sing some Gregorian chant as a way of creating a sombre, reverent mood at the death of the Selfish Giant. I’m just a bit miffed at the assumption that Gregorian chant is always a sombre category of music.

Gregorian chant covers a huge range of music, encompassing the lively processional hymn “Gloria, Laus et Honor tibi sit”, the uplifting introit for Laudate Sunday in Lent, so many soaring Alleluias, the beautiful Marian antiphons to name but a few. There are pieces for every liturgical occasion.

Of course, most recordings of chant feature all male choirs in resonant churches, which makes sense considering the ideals of liturgical music. They often sing quite slowly – a reflection of the acoustics of the venues, the patience of the contemplative life and awesome breath control. But you can sing it a little faster, especially with smaller people with smaller lung capacity (and attention spans).

I’m thinking of singing the offertory antiphon for the last Sundays of the year. The words are “De profundis” as a nod to something of a turning point in Oscar Wilde’s life ending in a death-bed conversion. Other contenders are “Ubi Caritas” or “Christus factus est” from Holy Thursday, “Absolve” or “Libera me” from the Mass for the Dead. What would you choose?

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“What will be the results of this innovation? The results expected, or rather desired, are that the faithful will participate in the liturgical mystery with more understanding, in a more practical, a more enjoyable and a more sanctifying way.” [Enjoyable?]

— Pope Paul VI (26 Nov 1969)

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