Views from the Choir Loft

Indispensable & Accessible: Fr. Samuel F. Weber Propers in English

Richard J. Clark · October 16, 2020

N INDISPENSABLE resource and gift to the Church is the comprehensive work of Rev. Samuel F. Weber O. S. B. In 2014 Ignatius Press published his Proper of the Mass. More recently, he has published additional volumes including Propers for Weekdays, Proper and Common for the Saints, and for Christian Initiation:

• Volume II: Proper of the Mass – Entrance, Offertory, and Communion Antiphons for Weekdays of the Temporal Cycle • Click here to download

• Volume III : Proper of the Mass – Entrance, Offertory, and Communion Antiphons for Proper Commons of Saints • Click here to download.

• Volume IV: Proper of the Mass – Entrance, Offertory, and Communion Antiphons for the Conferral of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation Click here to download.

MORE ASTONISHING is that they are available for FREE at Fr. Weber’s website: Sacred Music US. There is so much on this website that it is perhaps overwhelming at first. It is a treasure-trove!

ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENTS

In addition, he offers organ accompaniments. Although handwritten, they are clear and easy to read. This offers an opportunity for those not as familiar with chant notation to access the abundance Fr. Weber has offered. You may download the complete organ accompaniments (2,502 pages!) here.

These three volumes are especially useful for daily Mass. Often there are multiple options for each antiphon that range from Solemn to more simple, to a simple psalm tone. This too accommodates a range of abilities, rehearsal time, and preference. The antiphons possess sublime elegance that grace the Novus Ordo Mass with simple, yet proper reverence and solemnity. These are clearly rooted in the traditions of Gregorian Chant, as one will recognize myriad chant formulae.

While Fr. Weber’s work has become a staple at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and at St. John’s Seminary in Boston, this music is truly for every parish. He makes singing the propers at Mass easy to access both musically and financially.

While Fr. Weber is generous in offering free downloads, I find the hard volumes to be most useful and easier to navigate on a daily basis. Please support his extraordinary work!

Thank you, Fr. Weber!

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

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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” • 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

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