Views from the Choir Loft

“A New Era Of Church Music”

Corpus Christi Watershed · February 9, 2022

HERE ARE TWO KINDS of people in this world: Those who have stood in front of a choir in real life, and those who have not. Those who have “walked the walk” realize that directing a church choir is no easy task. Moreover, they understand the last thing needed by church musicians is another collection of goofy, syrupy, mawkish hymns. What is needed is a hymnal based on the authentic treasury of Catholic hymnody, featuring timeless and robust melodies, with accurate translations by priests and bishops. And this is what Sophia Institute Press provides, with the Brébeuf Collection. A new era of church music has arrived!

Sample pages from the pew edition:

The Brébeuf collection is printed & sold exclusively by Sophia Institute Press, using special paper from Finland. Plastic shrink-wrap is used to protect this precious delivery:

A fascinating full-color section includes the ARCH (“Authentic Roman Catholic History”) of vernacular hymnody—with beautiful illustrations:

The Brébeuf hymnal is truly unique; it does not mimic or “build upon” Protestant models. Sixteen (16) instructions at the beginning of the book explain:

The Brébeuf hymnal includes three (3) versions of the Stations of the Cross: one by Father Fulton J. Sheen, one by Cardinal Ratzinger, and one by Alphonsus Liguori:

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

“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