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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

Practice Tracks • Ainslie’s “English Proper Chants”

Corpus Christi Watershed · January 11, 2017

479 Benjamin O'Brien AVE YOU BEEN WAITING to look into choosing a particular musical setting for the antiphons of our Roman Catholic Tradition for your parish? Want to stay true to the beautiful and ancient traditions of our church? But perhaps learning and mastering chant melodies each week for your choir can seem daunting—with tricky intervals and chant modes that can seem so foreign in comparison to the familiar diatonic compositional styles heard in modern pop/secular music (i.e. major and minor keys). Look no further! Newly available, you can now receive weekly practice videos for Ainslie’s “English Proper Chants.”

Benjamin O’Brien, organist & choirmaster at St. Andre Bessette Parish in New Hampshire, has dedicated himself to recording these propers each week for educational purposes alone (to teach his choir who sings them on the weekend liturgies). You are most welcome to take advantage of these recordings by subscribing to the Youtube channel seen in the example below.

    * *  YouTube • 2nd Sunday Ordinary Time: Entrance Antiphon

As quoted in an earlier blog back in 2015 on CCW, announcing the arrival of this setting, Jeff Ostrowski said “This collection distinguishes itself in three main ways. First, it was composed by someone who’s pondered Propers in English since the 1960s, thereby avoiding many of the traps fallen into by modern composers with the best of intentions trying to compose vernacular Propers. Second, it is a complete collection, including all the Ordinary Time Sundays and major feasts. Third, every single chant in this book contains a keyboard accompaniment. Let me say at the outset that every Catholic musician should own this book by John Ainslie!”

Those not familiar with this setting can refer to the link below for more background info:

    * *  John Ainslie • Stunning New Collection of English Propers

In terms of the order in which these practice tracks have been presented and sung, you’ll notice that Benjamin has intoned the refrain melody once instrumentally, sung the whole refrain solo, and then repeated the whole refrain (the choir would join this time). Then he sings a single verse followed by one last refrain. Even though traditionally the cantor only sings solo up to the asterisk—followed by the choir joining in on the following word—Benjamin has chosen to ignore that particular practice for the sake of placing a priority on preparing your average church choir to sing these settings every weekend… and to sing them well!

ALL TOO OFTEN, WE OVERLOOK “preparation,” blindly thinking that if we simply “choose” beautiful music it will come out that way. Those of us who are directors know far too well that is only a third of the battle. The real struggle is ironing out the details and preparing your choir members to the best of your ability so they can step up to a high standard regardless of their training or a lack thereof. For better or worse the clear majority of cases for those of us in music ministry work with average volunteer choirs—which we should be ever so grateful for by the way! But that being the context… do we ask ourselves if we’re double-checking to make the process by which we’re introducing and teaching repertoire to our choirs something that is accessible and confidently attainable in every way? Notice how I didn’t say “easy” or “watered down”? If you hadn’t figured it out by now, this order that I proposed above and have laid out in the practice tracks (instrumental refrain, cantor refrain, choir refrain, verse 1 cantor, choir refrain) provides in my opinion the best way to allow for success with your choir. If you still aren’t sold on the idea think of this typical situation: choir member Joe was busy this week and couldn’t even make rehearsal and is singing the antiphons for the first time on site at mass on the weekend not having any idea what they will sound like or Sally did make rehearsal but struggles severely with reading music to begin with so having that extra reinforcement makes all the difference for her being successful and hitting the right pitches and interval relationships. Sound familiar? Lastly, I would like to argue that even with this slightly longer model (adding a refrain), that these Antiphons are still only 3 minutes long at MOST with this format. And that furthermore, if singing in church really is “praying” and not “performing” – doing one extra refrain simply gives a little extra time for us to ponder in our hearts these beautiful texts our church has selected.

In the original blog that introduced this setting (mentioned above) Jeff Ostrowski mentions towards the end about some minor complications with some of the music theory behind the compositional writing for the Organ Accompaniments for this setting by John Ainslie (i.e. parallel octaves, etc). Benjamin has found a practical solution to that issue, modeled in the practice videos, and employs the following method with his choir: leaving the accompaniment out entirely Benjamin relies solely on the Melody Edition of Ainslie’s settings and applies a “pedal tone” for each Entrance Antiphon giving a sense of majesty and wonder while also allowing one to fully appreciate the linear aspect of the melody itself to be heard without being clouded by an accompaniment part. This also brings the text out more which is what the Antiphons are all about to begin with. Additionally, this also creates a beautiful contrast to a typical opening 4-part hymn or other parts of mass that do indeed have full accompaniment parts and traditional harmony. As for the Communion Antiphons, Benjamin simply plays just the melody (no pedal tone or anything extra) on a soft organ stop down the octave. The idea behind this is threefold: 1) the intimacy and reverence of the Eucharistic Liturgy inspires a softer more gentle approach 2) this pays tribute to and honors traditional chant that is sung acapella (no accompaniment) 3) While not entirely acapella the use of a single soft organ stop is an excellent beautiful compromise to yet again ensure the musical success of an average church choir so they can hear the melody intoned and follow on those spots where they might not be as confident. Listen to the example below:

    * *  YouTube • 2nd Sunday Ordinary Time: Communion Antiphon

Food for thought to end: “I would contend that there are two primary reasons for the increased popularity of chanting the propers at Mass,” Father Dan Merz told CWR. (Fr. Merz is associate director of the Secretariat of Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.) He went on to say:

“First, there is a renewed interest in the texts proposed by the Church herself for the Mass, as opposed to individual choices that may not coincide with the rest of the Mass as well. This goes together with the desire for more accurate translations of texts used at the Eucharist and the other liturgies of the Church. The entrance and Communion antiphons are often scriptural and serve as an official commentary or meditation of sorts on the Mass of the day, as opposed to hymns or songs chosen on the local level. Second, there is a renewed interest in chant itself, including Gregorian chant. […] Many Catholics grew up without any experience or knowledge of chant, and so there is a natural desire to uncover a part of the tradition that was lost—at least to them.”

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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President’s Corner

    2-Voice Arr. • “Creator of the Starry Height”
    Do you direct a choir consisting of women or children only? (Some call this a “treble” choir.) Download a two-voice arrangement of Creator of the Starry Height set to the tune of IOANNES by clicking here and then scrolling to the bottom. In our times, this hymn is normally used during ADVENT, and the Latin title is: Cónditor alme síderum. It’s important to say “cónditor”—placing the accent on the antepenult—because ‘condítor’ in Latin means “one who embalms the dead.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Equal Voices” Choir Pieces
    My colleague, CORRINNE MAY, has posted some delightful compositions for equal voices: that is, choirs consisting of all men or all women. Included there are settings of the “Ave Maria” and “Tantum Ergo.” They strike me as relatively simple and not excessively lengthy. (In other words, within reach of volunteer singers.) Even better, all the scores have been made available as instant PDF downloads, completely free of charge. Bravo!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“A vigorous search is instituted for the best tenor and bass singers to be found in the realm. Luys de Villafranca, master of the altar boys and instructor of plainchant, petitions on November 27 that the boy-bishop festivities be combined this year with those for the Feast of St. Nicholas.” [From “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

— Sevilla: Chapter Resolution (20 November 1562)

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