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Views from the Choir Loft

Spanish Missal Chants Now Available

Fr. David Friel · April 22, 2018

EGINNING later this year, a new Spanish translation of the Latin, 3rd typical edition of the Missale Romanum goes into force in the United States of America. This new missal—the Misal Romano, tercera edición—will become available from publishers beginning in May 2018. Its use will be optional beginning at the Vigil of Pentecost (19 May 2018) and mandatory by the First Sunday of Advent (2 December 2018).

When the English translation of the 3rd typical edition was released in 2011, one of the chief improvements was the increased presence of musical notation in the pages of the missal. At the time, a massive project was undertaken to introduce these simple, but beautiful chants to clergy and laity throughout the Anglophone world. The same opportunity now presents itself with respect to Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. This is a significant moment for Spanish-speaking Catholics to reintroduce truly sacred music to their celebrations, in place of the American-Hispanic music that has for so long been imposed upon their communities.

In order to help the faithful become familiar with the 2011 English missal chants, the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) authorized the free and wide dissemination of the new settings. They even produced a very helpful website to assist liturgical musicians in English-speaking dioceses and parishes.

Now, the same permission has been granted for the distribution of the new Spanish missal chants. A lovely and user-friendly website has been published by the Zipoli Institute. The goal of the institute (which is an apostolate of the Institute of the Incarnate Word) is to provide resources that help to make sacred music accessible in mission territories.

Included in the Spanish section of the Zipoli Institute’s website are three resources of particular importance:

1. Practice recordings of the Misal Romano chants (in both standard and low pitches)

2. A printable booklet of the Misal Romano chants for congregational use (in both single-sheet and double-sheet formats)

3. A collection of quality, Spanish hymns for various occasions

The Zipoli Institute is also a treasure trove of materials for the sung Mass in English and for Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Additional materials are provided or referenced for sacristans, for funeral/wedding planning, and for singing polyphony.

I highly recommend a visit to their website to explore the abundance of resources they provide.

Next week, a special conference will be held just outside Washington, DC to provide training in the new chants of the Misal Romano. On Friday, 27 April 2018 the workshop will be tailored to clergy and seminarians, whereas the sessions on Saturday, 28 April 2018 are directed toward music directors, choirs, and congregations.

Let us pray that the introduction of this new translation of the Misal Romano will enable Spanish-speaking Catholics to sing a truly new song to the Lord!

Cantad al Señor un cántico nuevo, porque ha hecho maravillas . . . Aclamad con júbilo al Señor, toda la tierra; prorrumpid y cantad con gozo, cantad alabanzas. (Salmo 98)

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: ICEL, ICEL Chants, ICEL New Translation of the Roman Missal, Misal Romano, Propers, Spanish Hymnal for Catholics, Zipoli Institute Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

They were not ashamed to lay their hands on Sedulius, on Prudentius, on St. Ambrose himself. Only in one or two cases does some sense of shame seem to have stopped their nefarious work. They left “Ave maris stella,” “Jam lucis orto sidere,” and St. Thomas Aquinas’s hymns alone (they would have made pretty work of “Sacris solemniis”). In 1629 their mangled remnants were published.

— Rev’d Adrian Knottesford Fortescue (25 March 1916)

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