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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF • “Hymn Suggestions For Each Sunday”

Jeff Ostrowski · March 9, 2022

HERE WAS A TYPE of “schizophrenia” in the liturgical movement of the last 150 years. On one hand, leaders of the liturgical movement wanted to control rigidly the participation of the faithful, claiming the “best” type of participation is saying the exact prayers the priest does—an idea which was condemned by Pope Pius XII in §108 of Mediator Dei (20 Nov 1947). On the other hand, leaders of the liturgical movement often encouraged (sometimes illicitly) “paraphrases” of the Mass, similar to a BETSINGMESSE.1

The Situation We Have • The reformers of the 1960s said they wanted people to “sing the Mass” rather than “singing at Mass.” However, when the time came they did the opposite; they de facto eliminated the Mass propers and replaced them with religious songs and hymns. We are 100% free to complain about this situation; but that’s the situation we have, whether we like it or not. A mature person knows how to work within the confines of reality. The conscientious choirmaster takes people where they are and then—carefully and prudently—leads them to something higher.

“RRRC” • In many situations, it would not be prudent to “rip away” and destroy everything the congregation knows. If the congregation is accustomed to singing hymns at Mass, only a lunatic would come in and ban all hymns. A better approach would be to replace the goofy modern songs with RRRC: “Rich, Robust, Roman Catholic” hymns. Sophia Institute Press has put together a list of hymns for each Sunday. See what you think of it:

*  PDF Download • “Hymn Suggestions For Each Sunday”
—For the “Ordinary Form” (Lent until Pentecost); “Extraordinary Form” charts are also being produced.

Personal Preference • For myself, I never use a “hymn list.” The Brébeuf hymnal has about 900 hymns; terrific texts with marvelous melodies. Sometimes I even switch the hymns at the last moment. It may depend on which singers are available; or we may be focusing on a particular SATB setting; or I might want to explore a new tune I’ve not done as often; or one of the choirs may be having “issues” with pitch that day; and so forth. I love the enormous range of options the Brébeuf hymnal provides, and choosing them is a breeze thanks to the impressive snippets index.

Hymns At Mass? • Occasionally, someone will say: “Hymns don’t belong at Mass—they only belong in the Divine Office.” But such a statement cannot withstand scrutiny. A position paper from Sophia Institute Press handles the matter very well—and I’m not going to repeat what is said there. I would simply note that “general Communion” (viz. the faithful receiving the Eucharist during Mass along with the Celebrant) fell out of favor for about 1,000 years. By the 1960s, it had been revived—and it made a huge difference at Mass. It adds approximately 15 minutes to each Mass. To give you some idea, let’s say there are 20,000 parishes in the United States. Doing a few basic calculations, “general Communion” added something like 3,920,000 hours to the celebration of Mass. The notion that hymns would not be used to “fill in” the liturgical action strikes me as absurd. Of course, motets and organ music would also work very nicely.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Indeed, the young Annibale Bugnini made a name for himself by forcing his congregation to participate according to his preferences. Specifically, Bugnini created Italian signposts with a vernacular “paraphrase” of the Mass prayers, and he forced the congregation to recite these signboards aloud while Mass was going on. On this, cf. Yves Chiron (Annibale Bugnini, 2018) page 25.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Pius X Liturgical Movement, singing at Mass, Singing the Mass Last Updated: March 9, 2022

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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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Giovanni Doni is known for having changed the name of note “Ut,” renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that 1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut,” and 2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the tonic and root of the world. There is much academic speculation that Giovanni Doni also wanted to imprint himself into musical canon in perpetuity because “Do” is also ulteriorly an abbreviation for his family name.

— Giovanni Battista Doni died in 1647AD

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