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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Holy Week Chants • Clergy Training

Fr. David Friel · March 13, 2021

OLY WEEK is certainly the most demanding week of the year—ceremonially, musically, and spiritually. From the Passion narratives to the Reproaches to the Exsultet, the music for the week is sublime, but challenging. In an effort to help clergy prepare for their part in the chants of Holy Week, a free online workshop will be offered this coming Thursday evening.

Sponsored by Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast, the training will take place on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 8 PM (EDT) via the Zoom platform.

The workshop is focused on the English chants of Holy Week according to the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The music to be covered includes the week’s major chants proper to the clergy:

Sung Passions of Palm Sunday (Year B) and Good Friday)
Solemn Intercessions of Good Friday
Chant for the Showing of the Cross
Exsultet
Triple Alleluia and Dismissal of the Easter Vigil

Three presenters will lead this very timely workshop:

Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka (Director of Sacred Music, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers)
Fr. Michael Connolly (Parochial Vicar, St. Columba Church, Hopewell Junction, NY)
Fr. Jon Tveit (Parochial Vicar, St. James the Apostle, Carmel, NY)

The workshop is free, but requires advanced registration. Register here.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Holy Week, ICEL Chants, Simple Steps To Improve Parish Music Last Updated: March 13, 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“Every experienced choirmaster’s work is founded on the following three axioms: (1) Few boys have a really good natural voice; (2) No boy is able to control his voice and produce good tone without training; (3) Most boys have a good ear, and considerable imitative capacity. It is on the last of these axioms that the choirmaster must begin his work.”

— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)

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