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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Major Problems with “Holy Family” Feast

Jeff Ostrowski · January 3, 2017

OU PROBABLY THINK I’m going to complain that the Feast of the Holy Family has been moved around too much. After all, it was created in 1893 by the very Pope who composed the breviary hymns for it. First it was placed on the Third Sunday after Epiphany. In 1914 it was moved to January 19th. Later on it was moved to the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany. After Vatican II, it was moved yet again. You can see how confusing things were by looking at this page from a 1957 Solesmes book. (The Feast of the Holy Name has also been moved a whole bunch of times.)

But that’s not my problem.

The psalm verse for the Introit—specifically “in átria Dómini”—breaks the formula:

    * *  PDF Download • INTROIT for the Holy Family

Here’s the formula:

500 Holy Family Introit


I wanted to see if this was a 1960s typo, but it’s not. You can see Abbot Pothier did the same thing in 1908:

502 Pothier


Dom Mocquereau, in his 1903 Liber Usualis, does it correctly. That is to say, he treats this solemn cadence as cursive rather than accentual:

501 Mocquereau 1903 Liber Usualis


In Pothier’s 1896 Liber Usualis, he does the same as the Vatican Edition:

499 Pothier 1896 LIBER USUALIS


CONCLUSION : Abbot Pothier must have been extremely bothered by a cursive treatment of “átria.” Sometimes, ancient manuscripts did bend the rules for the tonic accent—but that was not the norm. (Solemn Mode VI is especially confusing in this regard.) Bruce Ford has written:

“Some have criticized Pothier’s treatment of the final cadence of the eighth introit psalm tone. It is cursive, but Pothier sometimes treated it as if it were a cadence of one accent with three preparatory syllables.”

To make matters worse, Rome has sometimes muddled things.


P.S.

Many don’t realize that all the EF chants for the Holy Family can be used for the Ordinary Form. Cf. section 397 of the Ordo Cantus Missæ.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Feast of the Holy Family Last Updated: January 19, 2021

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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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —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

“Been to Catholic church and heard Mass. Execrable music! Organ played by a young girl who made impossible harmonies. Sermon very long. The preacher screamed loud enough to tire his lungs. The congregation was affected.”

— Louis Moreau Gottschalk (8 May 1864)

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