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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

    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 21st Sunday Ordin. Time
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) which is coming up on 24 August 2025. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. It’s set in a melancholy mode, but if you heard my choir’s female voices singing it your soul would be uplifted beyond belief. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“Except the psalms or canonical Scriptures of the new and old Testaments, nothing composed poetically shall be sung in church, as the holy canons command.”

— ‘Council of Braga, 563AD’

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