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Views from the Choir Loft

Musical Notation for New EF Prefaces

Fr. David Friel · February 7, 2021

NE of the most commonly cited ways in which the Ordinary Form can “mutually enrich” the Extraordinary Form is through its wealth of prefaces. It was quite natural, therefore, when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) published the decree Quo magis almost a year ago, on 25 March 2020, permitting the (optional) use of seven additional prefaces in the Extraordinary Form.

Vere dignum (Sacramentarium Nonantolanum, BnF MS Lat 2292 f7v)

Four of the “new” prefaces are taken from the Ordinary Form, with adaptations to their concluding “eschatols,” so as to make them conform to the pattern of other prefaces in the Missale Romanum 1962. These include the prefaces of the Angels, of John the Baptist, of Martyrs, and of the nuptial Mass.

The other three “new” prefaces already enjoyed regional approval for use in the Extraordinary Form, which has now been extended universally. These are the prefaces of All Saints and Patron Saints, of the Blessed Sacrament, and of the Dedication of a Church.

Along with its decree, the CDF also published the texts of these seven prefaces. No version with musical notation, however, was given, making it practically difficult for many priests to use these prefaces at sung Masses.

This lacuna has largely been remedied through the good work of GregoBase, an excellent online chant resource that provides notated versions of 6 of these 7 “new” prefaces. In order to assist priests in singing these texts, I am providing direct links here to each of the notated prefaces. Also included here are links to a very worthwhile series of articles at New Liturgical Movement, which explains more about the history of each preface.

De Angelis
Praefatio ferialis | Praefatio solemnis | Praefatio solemnior
NLM article, Part 1

De Sancto Ioanne Baptista
Praefatio ferialis | Praefatio solemnis | Praefatio solemnior
NLM article, Part 2

De Martyribus
Praefatio ferialis | Praefatio solemnis | Praefatio solemnior
NLM article, Part 3

De Nuptiis
Praefatio ferialis | Praefatio solemnis | Praefatio solemnior
NLM article, Part 4

De Omnibus Sanctis et Ss. Patronis
Praefatio ferialis | Praefatio solemnis | Praefatio solemnior
NLM article, Part 6

De Dedicatione Ecclesiae
Praefatio ferialis | Praefatio solemnis | Praefatio solemnior
NLM article, Part 7

The only one of these prefaces not yet included on GregoBase is the preface De Ss. Sacramento, used on the feast of Corpus Christi and in votive Masses of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest. This preface already appears, however, in many editions of the 1962 missal, both in plain text and with notation. For the NLM article on this preface, see Part 5.

In a plethora of manuscripts, the opening words of the “embolisms” of the prefaces (Vere dignum et iustum est) are indicated by an elaborate monogram. Two such illuminations are pictured in this article. For a fascinating explanation of this monogram, see Jeff Ostrowski’s article.

The prefaces of the Roman Rite are a tremendously rich theological source. May these resources help the Church to sing ever more ardently the thanksgiving owed to Almighty God!

Vere dignum (Sakramentar aus Metz, fol. 6r)
Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: chant, Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal, Gregorian Chant, Mutual Enrichment Last Updated: February 7, 2021

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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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

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“What matters is to prefer God to all else; to be ready to sacrifice all, rather than commit one sin.”

— Cardinal Merry Del Val (shortly before his death)

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