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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

(Live Recording) • “Jesus My Lord, My God, My All”

Jeff Ostrowski · May 4, 2021

HEN YOU PICK UP a book of organ accompaniments for Gregorian Chant, more often then not the composer will begin by apologizing (!) for accompanying Gregorian Chant, loquaciously explaining that Gregorian Chant “really shouldn’t be accompanied.” Yet, the same author has published 300+ pages of Gregorian accompaniments, so he clearly doesn’t believe what he’s saying! 1 Similarly, fin de siècle Catholic hymnals all follow a “hidden rule,” which demands they begin by apologizing for several of the hymns they have printed. To give just one example, Tozer’s Catholic Church Hymnal (1906) contains this supercillious statement: “I have retained several more or less traditional tunes, absolutely valueless and without merit from a musical point of view, but which seem to have become a necessity if a book is to appeal—as I hope this one will—to the varied needs of various churches.”

A less haughty attitude is espoused by Sir Richard Runciman Terry who said that we must not disdain the preferences of the older generation, which grew up with certain hymns. Father Valentine Young used to say: de gustibus non est disputandum!

Here is a hymn which singers absolutely love to sing:

This is #727 the Brébeuf hymnal. It was written by Father Frederick William Faber, Cong. Orat. (d. 1863). Several members of the Brébeuf committee made clear they were not fond of this hymn, which sounded somewhat horse-and-buggy. However, it would be wrong to omit it from any Catholic hymnal because congregations really love singing it. The Brébeuf hymnal has hundreds of magnificent hymns—far more than any other Catholic hymnal—so those who don’t care for this particular song have tons of other choices they can select.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Sometimes, it’s quite puzzling to see what composers before Vatican II provided accompaniments for. An example would be the “Gloria Laus Et Honor” of Palm Sunday; the NOH provides accompaniments for this—but why? Some believe it was for “rehearsal purposes,” whereas others point out there were certain circumstances where that part of the Palm Sunday procession happened inside the Church instead of at the Church porch. There are many such instances, where composers harmonize things which were never allowed to be accompanied before Vatican II.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Frederick William Faber, Jesus My Lord My God My All, Sir Richard Runciman Terry Last Updated: May 5, 2021

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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

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —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

“By no means would I offer the counsel that Mass be celebrated in languages other than Latin.”

— Archbishop Dwyer (one of the Vatican II fathers)

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