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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Communion Antiphon” (with organ accompaniment)

Jeff Ostrowski · September 1, 2020

HOSE OF US LIVING in Los Angeles have basically been locked in our homes since March due to the government’s Covid-19 response. This has added even more isolation to our society, which was already “secluded by electronic devices.” Something missing from our society is the sharing of “life moments.” For example, I experienced tremendous joy about six months ago. Every year during the Sacred Music Symposium, I teach a course on multi-track recordings, but I was starting to question whether these classes were doing any good, and then…SURPRISE! Former students revealed the marvelous Brébeuf Virtual Choir, which they named after one of my favorite saints. 1 When I saw what those kids were doing with the Brébeuf Virtual Choir, my heart was moved. I felt like I was making a difference! And now, I have another “life moment” to share. A former student of mine—thrilled by our recent focus (01, 02, 03) on the Graduale Romanum—has revealed to me a project “in the works” for several years. Essentially, composers have come together to create simple settings of the Roman Gradual with harmonizations based upon Organum comitans ad Graduale sacrosanctae romanae ecclesiae, a production of the LEMMENSINSTITUUT (now part of the University of Leuven, where Fulton J. Sheen went to school). These settings strike me as especially fitting during what Dr. Tappan described as “Covidtide.”

Here’s a sample of their project, which can be shared freely:

*  PDF Download • “Seek first the kingdom of God”
—Simple settings from the Roman Gradual, posted with permission.

This text is the Communion Antiphon for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time; but it can also be used for any Sunday during Ordinary Time. The Roman Gradual says:

In omnibus Missis de Tempore eligi potest pro opportunitate, loco cuiusvis cantus diei proprii, alius ex eodem tempore. Translation: In all Masses of the Time it is permitted to replace the proper chant of the day with another belonging to the same season.

The PRAENOTANDA of the Graduale Romanum adds: “this is so that pastoral necessities may be more widely satisfied.”

Roman Gradual vs. Vulgata

The text of the Roman Gradual is based upon Matthew 6:33, yet it’s hardly identical:

Roman Gradual:
Primum quaérite regnum Dei,
et ómnia adiciéntur vobis,
dicit Dominus.

Translation:
“Seek first the kingdom of God,
and all things shall be added to you,
says the Lord.”

Saint Jerome’s Vulgate:
Quaerite ergo primum regnum Dei,
et iustitiam eius:
et haec omnia adicientur vobis.

Translation:
“Therefore seek first the kingdom of God,
and the justness thereof:
and all these things will be added to you.”

From what I can tell, this new project adheres to the Graduale Romanum, not the Vulgate (which came later).

In Need Of Assistance

The website (http://chaumonot.info/) for the Chaumonot Composers Group indicates they are currently searching for a webmaster and publisher. As a 501(c)3 public charity, Corpus Christi Watershed does not publish any books directly since 2013. The artists we promote—Peter Kwasniewski, John Naples, Kevin Allen, Aristotle Esguerra, Peter R. Johnson, and so forth—receive 100% of all profits. Corpus Christi Watershed does not take a “cut” of any sort. This new project is not something our organization can assist with, although we plan to promote it. For myself, I have been published by WLP, but that company was recently purchased by GIA Publications. The website also says they’re in need of someone who can convert their Roman Gradual scores from modern notation into GABC (“Gregorio”). If you can help them in this area, please follow that link!

 


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I would like to know who decided on such an awesome name! My guess is a particular young lady who is actually related (believe it or not) to one of the Jesuit martyrs. She recently went off to college in Texas, studying music.

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

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Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Chaumonot Communions, Chaumonot Composers Group, Covid-19 Coronavirus, Graduale Romanum Roman Gradual Propers, Roman Missal Third Edition Last Updated: April 6, 2024

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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

“Who dreamed on that day that within a few years, far less than a decade, the Latin past of the Church would be all but expunged, that it would be reduced to a memory fading into the middle distance? The thought of it would have horrified us, but it seemed so far beyond the realm of the possible as to be ridiculous. So we laughed it off.”

— Archbishop Dwyer of Portland (26-Oct-1973)

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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