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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

What Kind of Interest is there in a Gregorian Chant Class?

William J. Fritz · February 21, 2020

HIS past summer, I finally got around to giving a class on Gregorian chant at the parish where I’m music director. And I have a confession to make – I ‘under’ advertised it, and thus wasn’t expecting a big turnout. I announced a mere week before the actual class was to begin (it was a class to be held on Monday night for the next four Mondays), and I made this announcement at only one Mass (out of the nine we have each weekend) during the summer (when lots of parishioners are vacationing). I then placed flyers in the back of the church (which can be a black hole of pamphlets, flyers and holy cards on the best of days). Despite these obstacles, 65 – 70 people showed up to each of the classes. It ended up that word of mouth was a better advertising agent!

I will get to the structure of the class in a minute – but I wanted to share first who showed up to the class.

We had people from our local diocese, Orange County, but also from Los Angeles: we had young children, teens, elderly, married men and women, single young adults, entire families – there was even an expecting mother who came! Not everyone was interested in singing in the choir, but they all wanted to know about the music at the heart of the patrimony of the Church. What was more: they wanted to sing it, not just listen to it. It was also beautiful to see that not everyone came from a parish where the Extraordinary Form or even a Latin Novus Ordo is celebrated. During the Q and A time, many wanted to know how to start singing chant at their parish. After the class, a young boy let me know that he and his Dad sang the Ave Maria before he went to bed each night; and he wanted to learn more prayers to sing. In every attendee, I found a burning desire to learn chant. Yet, even after this response, I sometimes find my myself thinking, “Yes, but surely they will want [here fill in most recent song from local Christian radio station] instead of just the chant – right?” Just the chant: as if!

Why did I see chant having such a broad appeal to people coming from such diverse backgrounds and states in life? I firmly believe in studying, learning and singing the chants, we learn our Catholic faith, we learn the words of Sacred Scripture, and we tap into the communion of saints. In my summer chant class, I mentioned how once I had been to the J. Paul Getty Museum, and seen a 12th century Missal from the Premonstratensian (Norbertine) Abbey of St. Mary and Potentius of Steinfeld (this one). We were fortunate enough to be given a private showing of the book, and the curator was flipping through the ancient pages when we saw a very ornately illuminated “V”.

Here is the image:

Courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Ms. Ludwig V 4, fol. 65

We knew immediately that it was the preface tone from the Feast of the Holy Trinity… and began to read the notation and sing it from the nearly 850 year old book. (Try it yourself!) What was even more amazing – O Quam Admirabile! – the dating of the book almost certainly meant that St. Herman Joseph would have said Mass using this very same Missal. When we sing this music, it’s not simply the music of the historical Church. It’s the music of the saints – the living saints. By singing Gregorian chant, we pick up the same music that those dwellers in heaven once sang, and perhaps still sing at the throne of the Lamb.

Anton van Dyck – The Vision of the Blessed Hermann Joseph

Here is the outline I used for the 4 sessions of the “Summer Chant Class”: (I should mention as well, we were interested in practical learning, not the theoretical.)

Day 1: Introduction to Chant (and where to find chant FREE)

  • Handout including resources for Chant: Chant Tools (web version), Corpus Christi Watershed – Rene Goupil Gradual and the Parish Book of Chant (pdf here)
  • Singing is easy! Learn Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do and why that’s important
  • Handout showing some of the basics of Gregorian notation
  • Taught Antiphon: “Ave Maria”

Day 2: How much Gregorian chant does the Magisterium say Catholics ought to know?

  • Read sections from St. Paul VI’s “Jubilate Deo” and his letter “Voluntati Obsequens”
  • Handout with list of “minimum” chants that every Catholic should know (I added a few, like the Ave Maria and Vexilla Regis)
  • Handout included main types of chant (Mass parts, Antiphons, etc) and a very concise pronunciation guide
  • Taught Hymn: “Jesu Dulcis Memoria”

Day 3: The Modes and Psalm Tones

  • Used Guido of Arezzo’s Poem “The Eight Modes” as help to describe the “flavor” of each mode
  • Used Psalm tone samples to illustrate each mode (and parts of the tone: incipit, flex, tenor, terminations…)
  • Taught “Gloria Patri” in each Psalm Tone (and used as closing prayer)

Day 4: LOTS of singing

  • Passed out packet with 18 chants* that every Roman Catholic should know
  • Sang samples from each with the class

*(Creator Alme Siderum, Parce Domine, Attende Domine, Vexilla Regis, Pange Lingua Gloriosi (Tantum Ergo), Ubi Caritas, Veni Creator Spiritus, Adoro Te Devote, O Salutaris Hostia, Ave Verum Corpus, Jesu Dulcis Memoria, Ave Maria, Ave Maris Stella, Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Regina Caelorum, Regina Caeli, Salve Regina, Te Deum)**

**Many would disagree with my list from the standpoint that there are other chants a Catholic should know, but none would argue that these are not all masterpieces of the repertoire (also, I purposefully avoided the Ordinary and Propers from the Mass, since many already are familiar with the “Jubilate Deo” selections of the Mass parts). Plus, it was only an hour long class!

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

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Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: February 23, 2020

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About William J. Fritz

William J. Fritz currently serves as music director at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, CA where he resides with his wife and three boys.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In condemning us, you condemn all your own ancestors—all the ancient priests, bishops and kings—all that was once the glory of England, the island of saints and the most devoted child of the See of Peter. For what have we taught, however you may qualify it with the odious name of treason, that they did not uniformly teach?”

— Father Edmund Campion (to the Anglicans about to murder him)

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