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Views from the Choir Loft

St. Michael the Archangel Prayer…in Gregorian Chant!

Jeff Ostrowski · April 6, 2019

OPE LEO XIII—“the Pope of the Rosary”—had an exceptionally long reign. In fact, it lasted twenty-five years; the third longest in the history of the Church. He composed a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel (sometime around 1884) and ordered that all priests recite it after Low Mass as part of the “Leonine” prayers: Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host—by the power of God—cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

I never knew this prayer had been set to plainsong, but while working on the Brébeuf Hymnal, a member of the production team emailed me a 700-page book of Franciscan chants (see below), which contains a remarkable setting:

* *  PDF Download • Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel


Here’s a holy card drawing of Pope Leo XIII.

Be careful, because a “TI” becomes “TE” as shown here:

85030 Flat TE

After Vatican II, it became quite trendy to denigrate something called “Neo-Gregorian” chants. Since this setting was probably composed circa 1890, it would be surely be considered Neo-Gregorian. I can’t deny that some of the Neo-Gregorian melodies are pretty terrible compared to authentic chant. On the other hand, many scholars of chant were dismayed when the Graduale appeared in the early 1970s. It did eliminate the Neo-Gregorian melodies, certainly; but too often the “authentic” replacements were ill-suited to the great feasts of the Church. In other words, for powerful and bright feasts, the antiphons assigned were frequently rather “somber” and “ferial.” These same scholars, therefore, had their choirs reintroduce the Neo-Gregorian melodies, since doing so is explicitly permitted “ad libitum” by the rules of the Ordo Cantus Missae (1970). But let’s face it: Gregorian chant de facto disappeared after the Second Vatican Council, so it seems rather silly to argue about “Neo-Gregorian” vs. “authentic” melodies.

THE FULL TITLE of that Franciscan chant book mentioned earlier is: Cantus Varii In Usu Apud Nostrates Ab Origine Ordinis, Aliaque Carmina In Decursu Saeculorum Pie Usu Parta. You can download all 700 pages, and I encourage you to do so. It contains loads of cool stuff:

* *  PDF Download • Book of Franciscan Chants (21.1MB)

I wish I had this book in 2009, when I was presenting on the “white notes” (as Professor Joseph Lennards dubbed them), because it speaks about them in a lengthy introduction:

85033 MORA VOCIS

On the other hand, it might have been confusing, since that same Introduction does not adhere strictly to the “Pothier” treatment of morae vocis.

By the way, at the very end of the book, you’ll notice excerpts from the “corrupt” Reims-Cambrai edition of 1895. This reminds us what monks had to do when certain feasts were not available in the “reformed” chant, and was quite common. Dom Pierre Combe says Guéranger and Pothier initially sang from the Reims-Cambrai because “it was the least corrupt.” That is true…but it’s also possible they chose it because it was quite popular in France in those days.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Editio Vaticana Preface, Saint Michael the Archangel Last Updated: September 28, 2021

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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

    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

“The Chasuble, or upper garment, represents the purple garment which the soldiers put upon Jesus Christ, and the heavy cross that He carried on His blessed shoulders to Mount Calvary.”

— Guide for the Laity (1875)

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