Views from the Choir Loft

Tenth Anniversary Celebration • “Summorum Pontificum”

Fr. David Friel · August 13, 2017

HE TENTH anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, is being marked in a variety of ways in different places. Some parishes and universities have hosted lectures, concerts, and discussion groups. Others have arranged for solemn Masses to commemorate the historic promulgation.

The occasion will be marked in Philadelphia with a solemn Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form on September 14, 2017, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. This is the date on which the motu proprio came into effect, after having been published on July 7, 2007.

This Mass will be offered by Most. Rev. Joseph N. Perry, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul (18th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia).

Philadelphia’s Cathedral will also be the site for this week’s solemn high choral Assumption Mass, organized each year by Mater Ecclesiae Parish (Berlin, NJ). Music for this celebration will be provided by the Ars Laudis Festival Chorus and Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Timothy McDonnell. The Mass Ordinary will be Franz Schubert’s Mass No. 3 in B-flat Major.

Mass for the Blessed Mother’s feast will begin at 7 PM on August 15, 2017 in the Cathedral Basilica. All are welcome.

One decade removed from Summorum Pontificum, now is a good time to go back and re-read the document and the accompanying letter. Both texts are noteworthy for the pastoral concern that prompts and shapes them.

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

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published

Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.

—Jeff Ostrowski

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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