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Views from the Choir Loft

Acompañamientos • MISAL ROMANO, Tercera Edición

Richard J. Clark · October 19, 2018

HE NEW Spanish translation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition for the United States has been available since May, 2018. Its implementation becomes mandatory in the United States on the First Sunday of Advent, December 2, 2018. (Its use has been optional since the Vigil of Pentecost, 2018)

Like the English Translation, implemented in 2011, the new Misal Romano, tercia edición contains a great deal more music than any previous edition.

The Zipoli Institute has posted a wonderfully useful site that includes (unaccompanied) recordings here. You can hear them in higher and lower pitched tones.

The Archdiocese of New York has outlined a number of features in the new edition. Among them:

“In an effort to encourage the singing of the Ordinary of the Mass, the US Misal Romano will include more musical notation than any other Spanish language Misal Romano currently used throughout the world.”

TO THAT END, I HAVE ARRANGED some accompaniments for the chants for the Ordinary of the Mass from the Misal Romano. These include guitar chords.

      * *   Acompañamientos para el Ordinario de la Misa • Misal Romano, tercia edición

In addition, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has posted free downloads of all the chants of the Mass with many accompaniments for guitar and organ. These accompaniments were prepared by Marc Cerisier, who also beautifully engraved all of the music found in the misal.

You may find either set of accompaniments useful. While I often find congregations sing more easily to unaccompanied chant, accompaniments can be helpful especially in the learning stages. Furthermore, guitar accompaniment alone can be useful to allow more freedom with the natural accents and rhythms the language. (Guitar and light strings on the organ can also be a very beautiful combination.)

NOTE THAT THE USCCB ACCOMPANIMENTS are written in the “key” of the Vatican Edition. Of course these pitches are really only indicative of the mode and can be sung with any comfortable starting note. As such, it is wise to make adjustments as necessary to suit your congregation.

My accompaniments are taken down a step in most cases to be more comfortable for most congregations. I also added some rhythms indicated by Solesmes or where obvious for the text. (The Roman Missal chants do not have any indications for rhythm as you will see in the USCCB scores. One may find amusing that Theodore Marier would affectionately refer to this approach to notation as “announcing pitches.”)

Finally, I find the two most common mistakes are singing such chants too high and too slowly. This forces a congregation to push and support breath in ways that they are not equipped to do. The result is the people give up on singing altogether. So, sing it lower if necessary, and move the chant along with energy! Finally, take the cue from the people, and allow them to sing naturally.

ADDENDUM
You can also find a number of accompaniments to the Roman Missal Chants in English here

Soli Deo gloria

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Gregorian Chant Accompaniments, ICEL Chants, ICEL New Translation of the Roman Missal, Misal Romano, Zipoli Institute Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(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

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“Always remember: God opposes the proud.” (leaning into the microphone) “…even when they’re right!”

— ‘Scott Hahn, speaking in Plano, TX’

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