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Views from the Choir Loft

Square Note App

Fr. David Friel · April 9, 2017

ELL PHONES and other mobile devices these days serve manifold purposes. For some, they double and triple as cameras and internet browsers. For others, they also function as gaming devices, tip calculators, searchable Rolodexes, stereo systems, navigation systems, and portable televisions. But, have you ever used your mobile device as a Graduale Romanum?

Now you can, if you would like.

Recently, I stumbled upon an app called Square Note, which markets itself to church musicians and those who wish to learn more about chant. The app allows users to see a wide array of chants, with their texts and square notation. The chants are grouped in four major sections.

First, the Mass propers for the Ordinary Form encompass the whole temporal cycle and part of the sanctoral. Secondly, Mass propers are also available for the temporal cycle of the Extraordinary Form. Also included is a Kyriale section complete with all eighteen chant Masses and six chant creeds. Finally, the app offers a collection of “Other Chants,” which includes multiple versions of the Marian antiphons, certain Eucharistic chants, and several tones for the Te Deum.

One of the most useful features of the app is its capability of searching the texts of all the chants. Searches can be limited to the titles, or incipits, of the chants, or searches may be opened to include the full text of all the chants. For students of the liturgy, this tool is especially valuable.

Another feature that can be useful is the playback mode offered for each piece. Although this would unsettle purists, I can imagine the playback being useful for beginners. The tone quality of the playback is, of course, choppy and mechanistic, so its overuse ought to be avoided. I’ve known many schola directors who will not use a piano to find pitches or sound out passages, and there is real wisdom in their approach. For some, though, the playback mode offered in Square Note could be the help they need to get off the ground. Square Note even allows the user to adjust the pitch and tempo of the playback tool.

This app is the handiwork of Fr. Matthew Spencer, O.S.J. and Bro. Stephen Spencer, O.S.J., both members of the Holy Spouses Province of the Oblates of St. Joseph in the United States of America. It is a developing product, too, as more chants continue to be added to the collections.

The app is available for $2.99 in the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Click here to explore more fully the riches of this “Rituale in your pocket.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Graduale Romanum Roman Gradual Propers, Gregorian Chant, Propers, Resources for training in Church music Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
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    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Coming Soon! • Symposium 2023
    A few weeks ago, dates were announced for Sacred Music Symposium 2023. The rehearsal videos are beginning to appear! For example, the KYRIE ELEYSON contains sections by Lassus, Victoria, and Palestrina. You can see and hear Part 1 at this link. Much more information about this wonderful conference will be released soon!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Today the Church has made a big mistake, turning the clock back 500 years with guitars and popular songs. I don’t like it at all. Gregorian Chant is a vital and important tradition of the Church and to waste this—by having guys mix religious words with profane, Western songs—is hugely grave, hugely grave.”

— Maestro Ennio Morricone (10 Sept 2009)

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