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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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

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—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it. It’s impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that. A community is calling its very being into question when it suddenly declares that what until now was its holiest and highest possession is strictly forbidden and when it makes the longing for it seem downright indecent.”

— Cardinal Ratzinger, 1997

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