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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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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

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

“Pope Francis breaks Catholic traditions whenever he wants because he is free from disordered attachments. Our Church has indeed entered a new phase: with the advent of this first Jesuit pope, it is openly ruled by an individual rather than by the authority of Scripture alone or even its own dictates of tradition plus Scripture.”

— Fr. Thomas Rosica (31 July 2018)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
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