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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

Ratchets instead of Bells for your Electric Angelus

Veronica Brandt · March 28, 2018

Ratchet with crucifix background N THE PAST I HAVE WRITTEN about setting up automatic Angelus bells with a Raspberry Pi computer. It is very handy to have this for anyone not living within earshot of a church that still rings the Angelus.

The Angelus is a prayer in honor of the Annunciation, traditionally said at 6am, noon and 6pm. During Paschaltide it is replaced by the Regina Caeli. In some places you can still here church bells ring at midday, or maybe a short reminder on the radio.

On Good Friday and Holy Saturday however, it is customary to silence the bells and use other noise-makers instead. Fr Z describes these in his Quaeriter: Rattlers in the Sanctuary. There are some very impressive noisemakers, mostly in European museums.

This year I am not quite as frazzled as usual and remembered in time to look for ratchet sound effects and found this collection of Orchestral Ratchets. You remember the sound of the ratchet in the Toy Symphony, but it also comes up in Respighi’s The Pines of Rome and more cacophonic work by Schoenberg and Carl Orff.

Bells are avoided from after the Gloria at the Mass of Our Lord’s Supper through to the Gloria at the Easter Vigil, when they ring again with gusto and organ and unveiling images, so set your ratchet sounds for Friday and Saturday. Or get clappers, castanets and other non-bell percussion instruments and make the most of these sombre days.

Happy almost Easter everyone!



Photo Credit:

Background photo from the Nationaal Archief, Collectie Eerste Wereldoorlog (World War One). “The British Advance in the West: Yet another instance of a crucifix escaping injury from shells.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Raspberry Pi Last Updated: October 29, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

The Latin language, “far from being held in little regard, is certainly worthy of being vigorously defended.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (15 August 1966)

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