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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “English Hymns for Three Voices” (SSA), edited by Dr. Theodore Marier—182 pages

Jeff Ostrowski · April 27, 2023

HAVE SPOKEN about how I communicate with dead composers. Today, I felt like the recipient of a “pat on the back” from Dr. Theodore Marier—one of America’s leading church musicians—who passed away on 24 February 2001. That’s because I was looking through one of his books (which I’d never seen before). It’s called CANTUS POPULI, which means “Songs for the people” in Latin. The word cantus can mean “chant” or “item which is sung” or “song.” This book has been out of print for more than a century. I was so pleased, because many of the items included by Dr. Marier were hymns I fought for while serving on the committee which produced the Brébeuf Hymnal. Here are some examples: (1) “Lift High The Cross”; (2) “Now Thank We All Our God”; (3) Numerous hymn translations by Monsignor Ronald Knox, whose works were honored and featured by the Brébeuf Hymnal; (4) Hymns by John Henry Cardinal Newman; (5) Translations by Alan McDougall; (6) An Irish melody, on page 31, which is enshrined in the Brébeuf Hymnal; (7) a setting of Sáncti Veníte, an ancient text honored greatly by the Brébeuf editors; (8) numerous Marian hymns which were also included in the Brébeuf Hymnal; (9) an English translation of Veni Redemptor Gentium, a text highly honored by the Brébeuf editors; (10) a text with VOM HIMMEL HOCH, a melody greatly exalted by the Brébeuf committee; (11) the way Dr. Marier writes out each verse of the hymn on page 107 reminds me of how the Brébeuf Hymnal notates each and every verse, making life easy for singers and organists; and so forth.

All hymn arrangements are for three (3) voices! That’s something many choir directors have been begging for!

*  PDF • “CANTUS POPULI” for SSA Voices (182 pages)
—182.4MB • Cantus Populi: A Collection of Psalms, Hymns & Chants for SSA Voices (1963).

Brief But Beneficial • Indeed, this book by Dr. Marier seems almost like an “abridged” version of the Brébeuf Hymnal, except for SSA voices. (Of course, Dr. Marier’s book is only 182 pages, whereas the Brébeuf has close to 1,000 hymns.) This collection by Dr. Marier contains tons of English plainchant settings, which I suspect were used again two decades later, in Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Canticles (reviewed by Daniel Craig here). Something which surprised and delighted me was when I saw Dr. Marier’s plainsong setting of an Advent hymn you’ll recognize!

Major Differences • There are, however, a number of differences between this book and the Brébeuf Hymnal: (A) Dr. Marier’s book only includes a small number of verses—usually two or three—whereas the Brébeuf Hymnal includes all the verses for each hymn; (B) Dr. Marier’s book, published in the early 1960s, uses lyrics that are a bit more “old-fashioned” than the Brébeuf Hymnal; (C) Dr. Marier’s book includes about sixty hymns, whereas the Brébeuf Hymnal contains about 900; (D) Dr. Marier’s book is for three voices—SSA or TTB—whereas the Brébeuf Hymnal is for four voices [SATB]. Nevertheless, when I direct choirs consisting of all women or all men, I will definitely investigate some of these fine settings by Dr. Theodore Marier!

1960s Anyone?

Early 1960s Musical Scene • As far as I can tell, this book was published in the early 1960s. What was taking place on the musical scene at that time? In short, a whole lot! Regarding the use of vernacular, the Second Vatican Council had declared: “the limits of its employment may be extended.” Nonetheless, the Council solemnly declared that “it is for the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority to decide whether, and to what extent, the vernacular language is to be used.” Indeed, the specific language ratified by Vatican II says Latin must be retained; this is not a suggestion.

The Boring Stuff • Perhaps nobody will care about this next part, but I will include it anyway. By the early 1960s, the “pure” Editio Vaticana rhythm had begun to fall away. It had been replaced by the rhythm of Dom André Mocquereau, who—broadly speaking—matched the official rhythm in the KYRIALE, but radically contradicted it in the GRADUALE and ANTIPHONALE. The NOH, produced in the 1940s by the Lemmensinstituut, adhered to the official rhythm. One of the NOH composers was Marinus de Jong. When Omer Westendorf (d. 1997) commissioned an organ accompaniment from him in 1964, Marinus de Jong departed from the official rhythm and adopted the rhythm of Dom Mocquereau. You can compare the 1940s NOH accompaniment (which follows the Editio Vaticana) with the 1960s accompaniment by Marinus de Jong, which matches the rhythmic modifications by Dom Mocquereau.

Notice how the “pure” Editio Vaticana changes chords on the tonic accent:

Notice how Dom Mocquereau’s method places the chords on the final syllable of the word (which corresponds to the French language):

I recently spoke at length about the way organ accompaniments are written to match the Dom Mocquereau rhythm. This method was particularly worrisome to Mocquereau’s confrère at Solesmes Abbey, Dom Delpech.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: CANTUS POPULI MARIER, Dom Mocquereau Ictus, Hymns Psalms and Spiritual Canticles, Marinus de Jong Composer, Marinus de Jong Theorist, Mocquereau Rhythmic Signs Last Updated: April 27, 2023

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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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

“The priest coming nearer to the faithful; communicating with them; praying and singing with them and therefore standing at the pulpit; saying the COLLECT, the EPISTLE, and the GOSPEL in their language; the priest singing in the divine traditional melodies—the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo—with the faithful: these are so many good reforms that give back to that part of the Mass its true finality.”

— Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1965) praising vernacular readings at Mass

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