Views from the Choir Loft

Announcement of Easter & the Movable Feasts • 2020

Richard J. Clark · December 20, 2019

AUL J. MURRAY, Director of Music and Organist of Church of Our Saviour, New York, New York, has set the Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts for the Novus Ordo. He has kindly made it available here for free download. While, the chant can be found in the Roman Missal Appendix, it is very convenient to have the dates already in the music!

Note, there are two versions: one for Dioceses that celebrate The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord on a Thursday, and those that move it to Sunday.

N KEEPING WITH an ancient practice of the Holy Church, the moveable feasts of the coming year are announced following the Gospel. Interestingly, the rubrics indicate that the Gospel be sung! (However, even if read, that should not stop one from singing the proclamation):

On the Epiphany of the Lord, after the singing of the Gospel, a Deacon or cantor, in keeping with an ancient practice of the Holy Church, announces from the ambo the moveable feasts of the current year according to this formula:

This Epiphany proclamation is a reminder of the centrality of the resurrection of the Lord in the liturgical year and the importance of the great mysteries of faith, which are celebrated each year. Although optional, this chant is a unique expression (and fun) that connects our present day to our ancient roots of the Church. It is a tradition that reminds of who we are, where we come from, and where we are going!

• Dioceses that celebrate Ascension on Thursday • (in the United States: Ecclesiastical Provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, Philadelphia):
• PDF Download • The Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts • 2020

• Dioceses that celebrate Ascension on Sunday:
• PDF Download • The Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts • 2020

* * YouTube • Epiphany Proclamation • DEMO • (Ascension on a THURSDAY)

This chant is a wonderful way to add additional reverence to the liturgy. By leading us through key moments of salvation history, this proclamation reminds us—on the very day in which Christ is revealed to all nations—of Christ’s redeeming power in all our lives and to the whole world.

Soli Deo gloria

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

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).

“Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”

All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser

To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

“Much more serious was the problem, what to do about ‘thou’ and ‘you.’ I confess I would have liked to go the whole hog, and dispense with the use of ‘thou’ and ‘thee’, even where the Almighty was being addressed. They do these things in France, but I felt sure you could not get it past the British public. Why not, then, have ‘thou’ for God and ‘you’ for man? That is Moffatt’s principle; but it seems to me to break down hopelessly in relation to our Incarnate Lord…”

— Monsignor Ronald A. Knox