Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Daily Missal with Vespers for Sundays” by Dom Lefevbre (2,007 pages)

Jeff Ostrowski · February 16, 2021

VERY DAY, IT SEEMS we hear news of exciting liturgical projects! On Sunday, Father Friel revealed a “TLM Magnificat Magazine” being launched by SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS. In a moment, I’m going to tell you about a 2,007 page hand-missal by Dom Lefevbre now available as a free PDF file. Furthermore, we have received electrifying news regarding the 3rd edition of the Saint Edmund Campion Missal; this website has all the detials. In a nutshell, SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS will soon release a new version of the Campion Missal which has been in development for four years: and the improvements are mind-blowing. If anyone is interested in proofreading the 3rd edition, please write to this email address.

Now, let me share with you a terrific PDF file: “The Daily Missal with Vespers for Sundays” (1925), produced by Dom Pierre Gaspar Lefebvre (d. 1966). The book has a double IMPRIMATUR: (1) The Abbat of Saint Andrew’s Abbey (Bruges, Belgium); (2) Most Rev’d Daniel A. Dowling (d. 1930), Archbishop of the “Twin Cities” (Minnesota). Whoever scanned this massive book did a fabulous job:

* PDF Download • Dom Lefevbre Hand-Missal (2,007 pages)
—Dom Pierre Gaspar Lefevbre’s Daily Missal with Vespers for Sundays (1925).

Before downloading, feel free to view sample pages. Notice how—similar to the scores on the Saint René Goupil Website—English translations are provided underneath the Latin Gregorian Chant:

Thirteen years ago, we scanned the 1937 hand-missal by Francis Xavier Lasance (d. 1946). You can download it at the Saint Jean de Lalande Library, but we didn’t know very much about scanning in those days. I wish somebody would “clean up” that 1937 scan, because it’s quite a valuable reference book. The hand-missal by Father Lasance (1,879 pages) doesn’t include any music. However, the hand-missal by Dom Lefebvre (2,007) does include some musical notation:

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

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).

“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