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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

Rorate Caeli • “Very Ancient Catholic Song”

Jeff Ostrowski · December 5, 2017

ELIEVE IT OR NOT, researching the composers and arrangers often requires significantly more time than typesetting musical notes for the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal. Sometimes it feels like we are creating a doctoral dissertation on each hymn writer—but we feel it is important to always have access to the original text as the artist published it, even though sometimes adjustments are made based on the principles adopted by the hymn committee.

The Brébeuf hymnal will contain terrific information about the composers, hymn writers, sources, and so forth—but things didn’t used to be like this. Roman Catholic hymnals were notorious for including zero tunes names, zero composer names, and often listed the source as “ancient melody” or “sublime air” or “traditional text.” The Parochial Hymn Book, published in England (1897) by Fr. Anatole Police, usually lists the source as “ancient hymn.” Perhaps he could have done a better job of (wait for it…) policing his attributions.

For some reason, he dubs Rorate Coeli a “Very Ancient Catholic Chant.”

3725 Rorate Coeli


There is one exception to the rule followed by Fr. Police. Many pieces in this collection are given the attribution of “Rev. A Police.” 1

I understand why hymnals used to be done in such a way, but I am glad for how things have changed. One of the pioneers in this area was J. Vincent Higginson, who wrote under the pen name of “Cyr de Brant.”

Mr. Higginson wrote about his own hymnal:

A distinctive feature of the Mediator Dei Hymnal is the naming of the tunes and listing of their metric schemes. This practice is, unfortunately, all too rare in American hymn publications. It is hoped that other hymnals will in time adopt these names (they are free to do so) in order that unity in this regard will prevail in future years. Naming the tunes in a uniform manner makes the identification of these tunes a simple matter, and a knowledge of the meter enables one to apply an alternate melodic setting to a given text when this seems to be called for. The choice of names given here is proposed as a first classification for use in all future hymn collections. The accompaniment edition is adapted to the abilities of the less experienced organist.

The argument could be made that the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal will be—in some ways—the successor of the Mediator Dei Hymnal.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   The same is true of the St. Gregory Hymnal, which attributes tons of hymns to its editor, “NAM.” That stands for “Nicola A. Montani,” founder of the St. Gregory Society, who died in 1948.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Affordable Hymnal for Catholic Parishes, Jean de Brebeuf Hymnal Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

Jeffrey Tucker: “What are your thoughts on what passes for sacred music in most Catholic parishes today?” Richard Morris: “There’s nothing sacred about it. The tunes, rhythms, and messages are drawn mainly from secular culture. When it isn’t aesthetically repugnant and downright offensive to the Faith, it is utterly forgettable.”

— James Richard Morris (concert organist)

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