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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

Hymn Translations That Don’t Rhyme?

Jeff Ostrowski · June 19, 2021

HERE’S AN OLD SAYING: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Much wisdom is contained in that phrase; and those who create hymnals understand well its meaning. The best hymns are often in Latin, but how can they be translated? A literal translation is the best way to capture the meaning of the original—but a literal translation cannot be sung. Many have attempted to create “rhymed” (i.e. metered) translations, but even the most skilled—Neale, Fitzpatrick, Knox, Caswall, and so on—often miss the mark, because it truly is an impossible task. For this reason, the Brébeuf hymnal includes a literal translation as well as numerous “rhyming” translations from which the competent choirmaster can choose.

A Free Lunch? Sometimes, hymnal editors attempt to “have their cake and eat it, too.” They will use metered translations that don’t rhyme. At first, this certainly seems like a brilliant solution! And one could get away with non-rhymed texts when it comes to lengthy, melismatic, complicated hymns such as Decora Lux Aeternitatis.

Fulton J. Sheen Missal: Many years ago, Corpus Christi Watershed made available for free download the remarkable “Fulton J. Sheen Sunday Missal,” published in 1961. This was one of our most popular PDF files, and it was downloaded close to 45,000 times. It has been out-of-print for more than half a century…and largely forgotten. In the past, we have talked about how the references to authors of the hymn translations were completely bonkers—no doubt through an editorial oversight. So we will never know who created the following translation, although it might have been Father Philip Caraman.

Non-Rhyming Hymns: Here is how the “Pange Lingua” of Bishop Fortunatus appears in the Fulton J. Sheen Sunday Missal—and notice it does not rhyme, yet does match the meter of the original Latin:

What’s The Point? What is the point of this translation? One would assume it was done for singing. After all, several other attempts at “non-rhymed” hymns have been made: (1) The new ICEL Breviary hymns are supposedly non-rhymed; (2) The 1970s translation by the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Cecilia in Ryde on the Isle of Wight—just off the south coast of England—uses non-rhymed translations. The Ryde hymns were adapted for the 2007 Mundelein Psalter by Douglas Martis. In my opinion, such translations don’t work, except in the very limited case we spoke of earlier: viz. complex, melismatic, lengthy hymns. In other hymns, our ears are accustomed to hearing the rhyme; we desire strongly to hear the rhyme. Without the rhyme, the piece seems unfulfilling.

An Example: Here is how the translation above—from the Sheen Missal—would sound if set to music. Do you agree this is ghastly?

Liturgical Snobs: We should desire the best for the sacred liturgy. There is nothing wrong with examining liturgical publications and soberly discerning that some have missed the mark, perhaps in an effort to make money. At the same time, we should be on our guard against becoming a “liturgical snob”—and each of us has met such a person. The liturgical snob is so consumed by rage, hatred, and pretentious liturgical “knowledge,” we can’t help wondering if he even believes in God. I believe the priest mentioned in Saint Luke, chapter 10, was most like a liturgical snob:

And Jesus answering, said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead. And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by.”

Snobs Cont’d: Some authors clearly possess authentic love for God and a deep desire to share knowledge about the sacred liturgy. Other authors seem obsessed with proving to everyone what an “expert” they are when it comes to liturgical subjects. A liturgical snob would rather suffer death than admit that someone knew something before he did. And the liturgical snob would suffer death 1,000 times before admitting he was incorrect about something.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Bishop Fulton J Sheen, Hymn Meters, Hymnbooks, Jean de Brebeuf Hymnal, Non-Rhymed Hymns, Pange Lingua Fortunatus Last Updated: June 20, 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

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I vividly remember going to church with him in Bournemouth. He was a devout Roman Catholic and it was soon after the Church had changed the liturgy (from Latin to English). My grandfather obviously didn’t agree with this and made all the responses very loudly in Latin while the rest of the congregation answered in English. I found the whole experience quite excruciating, but my grandfather was oblivious. He simply had to do what he believed to be right.”

— Simon Tolkien (2003)

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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