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Corpus Christi Watershed

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

“Gonfalon Royal” • One Of My Favorite Hymn Tunes

Daniel Tucker · August 2, 2020

T THE CLOSE of Vespers on the first night of the 2019 Sacred Music Symposium, hosted in Los Angeles by Corpus Christi Watershed and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), we learned what has quickly become one of my favorite hymn tunes, GONFALON ROYAL. Vigorous and tremendously fulfilling to sing, GONFALON ROYAL first appeared in a 1913 collection entitled Fourteen Hymn Tunes by British composer and organist Sir Percy Carter Buck (1871-1947). In addition to his work as a church musician, Buck was the director of music at London’s Harrow School for boys, as well as a professor of music at various universities, including the University of Oxford, the University of London, Trinity College Dublin, and the Royal College of Music. His scholarship includes books on organ technique, harmony, and acoustics, as well contributions to Oxford University Press’ Tudor Church Music and the Oxford History of Music. Buck’s tune serves as an excellent example of the concept of “melodic compensation,” a principle of 18th-century counterpoint which states that a large melodic skip in one direction should be counterbalanced by an immediate step or skip in the opposite direction.

The word “gonfalon” (from the early Italian confalone) means “flag,” “banner,” or “standard,” and indeed the tune was given the name GONFALON ROYAL because of its association with Venantius Fortunatus’ (c. 540-c. 600) famous Latin hymn text Vexilla regis, known in its English translation as “The Royal Banners Forward Go.” Such banners, especially popular in medieval Italy, were often carried in ceremonial processions marking major liturgical feasts or the feasts of local saints. These cloths, usually made of canvas and decorated with oil or tempura paint, featured depictions of Jesus Christ, the Holy Cross, the Blessed Virgin Mary, local patron saints of villages and confraternities, or other religious imagery. Nowadays, Vexilla regis is prescribed for feasts of the Cross such as the Exultation of the Holy Cross (on September 14), and for Holy Week.

Here’s the Vexilla regis pairing from the Brébeuf hymnal, #528:

But “The Royal Banners Forward Go” is not the only text for which GONFALON ROYAL can be suitably employed. It is known under other hymn titles, such as “Sing to the Lord a Joyful Song” and “O Lord Most High, Eternal King.” Of course, because the tune fits any hymn text in “long meter” (88 88 LM), it is tremendously flexible. In fact, GONFALON ROYAL is matched to more than a dozen different texts in the St. Jean de Brébeuf hymnal, including texts for: Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and All Saints Day; for feasts of the Blessed Virgin, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Cross, and the Holy Name of Jesus; and to texts appropriate for general use. It is a tune which your choirs and congregations will be happy to know and happy to sing as it reoccurs throughout the liturgical year.

Here’s a GONFALON ROYAL pairing with Rex sempiterne, a “general use” hymn which can also be used during Eastertide:

To my fellow church musicians: may we all carry our banners bravely forward, continuing our work faithfully—in ways small as well as large—for the glorification of God and the edification and sanctification of the faithful.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: August 7, 2020

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About Daniel Tucker

Daniel Tucker is choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in South Bend, IN. He holds degrees from Western Michigan University and Yale University. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 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 feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
    This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
    Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.
    —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 only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments: namely, the _saints_ the Church has produced and the _art_ which has grown in her womb.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (Interview, 1985)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
  • Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
  • Installment #3 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

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