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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

Natalia’s Message • “Hymn Verses Written Out!”

Jeff Ostrowski · August 24, 2023

NE OF THE CRUELEST things you can do to anyone is … ignore them. Obviously, I’m not talking about every situation. For example, I’m currently having issues with my email service. As a result, I’m unable to respond to certain people who sent me messages. That’s not “ignoring”—because there’s nothing I can do about it. [A friend of mine who’s brilliant at technology is on the case, so everything should be fixed soon.] What I’m talking about is when a homeless person needs assistance but everyone walking by pretends not to notice. I will continue this discussion below.

A Film About Hymn Verses! • I don’t work for SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS, but my friends do. Moreover—along with several authors who contribute to this blog—my musical compositions were chosen to be included in the Brébeuf Hymnal. I have been assisting SOPHIA with production of several explanatory videos. Here’s an example:

Here’s the direct URL link.

Heart of the Matter • I like that video, because it gets to the heart of the matter. When I was first hired as a church musician, I remember how the parish used books from one of the “big publishers.” These books used the standard method of notating each hymn. Usually, they would only notate the first two or three verses—the rest being printed at the bottom of the page, without any musical notes above them. Since I was responsible for five (5) Masses each Sunday, sometimes I had to serve as organist and cantor simultaneously. I didn’t want to sing only the first two verses, so I spent hours writing out the additional verses using SIBELIUS. This was also necessary if the choir wanted to break into SATB on the final verse.

Lazy Typesetting • I can understand why publishers “stack” verses. It saves them tons of work! But if the music is difficult or unfamiliar, it doesn’t work in real life for volunteer singers. Moreover, it doesn’t work when the organist also serves as cantor. The only way to “solve” this problem is by singing the same hymns over and over again—month after month, year after year—so the organist can memorize the harmonization (and some of the lyrics). If somebody has sung a hymn since childhood, they probably have the lyrics memorized. Believe it or not, I’ve encountered many musicians (!) who feel that if they have lyrics memorized, that means everybody in the congregation also has those same lyrics memorized. (I am not kidding!)

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

Seeking Answers! • The Brébeuf Hymnal solves the problem by notating each verse, the same way the ANTIPHONALE ROMANUM (1949) notated each verse. For years, I have tried to figure out how other musicians get around these issues. So far, I’ve been unable to get any answers. When I probe, I’m often ignored. I suspect this is the reason why so few Catholic Churches have volunteer choirs capable of singing SATB well. Choirmasters in such a situation should immediately obtain the Brébeuf Hymnal. We have used it at my parish for five years, and what a difference it has made!

“Ignoring” (1 of 3) • Suppose a child in elementary school challenged Albert Einstein (d. 1955) to debate him vis-à-vis quantum mechanics. If the child receives no response, that doesn’t mean Einstein is too cowardly to debate. In reality, it would be absurd for Einstein to debate physics with a child in elementary school. Sometimes “ignoring” is fully appropriate.

“Ignoring” (2 of 3) • Let’s take another case. A few years ago, a colleague (who considers himself a great church musician) sent me an email. In one of my articles, I’d mentioned that I can’t stand hearing wrong notes. Therefore, when I began my career it was necessary for me to write out—using SIBELIUS—each verse of a hymn if I were simultaneously serving as cantor & organist. My correspondent told me: “Jeff, you’re clearly a deficient musician. We are trained to play and sing stacked verses without any problems whatsoever. I can do it in my sleep.” My suspicion was this particular musician sang the same hymns over and over again, meaning he’d basically memorized each verse. Therefore, I responded to him: “Would you’d be willing to give me a demonstration? Let’s open a zoom session, and I’ll send you a piece with stacked verses. For somebody like you, this will be a piece of cake, right?” I never heard from him again.

“Ignoring” (3 of 3) • A few years back, I received an unsolicited email accusing me of certain things. For example, I was informed that a statement I’d made during one of my talks was “duplicitous.” I took the time to respond with five (5) specific points, asking this person to explain—in light of those five points—why he thinks I was duplicitous. His answer (which I still have) was: “I no longer wish to discuss this matter.” Do you see why I find the ignoring technique frustrating?

When it comes to the subject of ignoring, we saw this (sadly) with the promulgation of TRADITIONIS CUSTODES. After its release, some bishops chose to persecute certain Catholics under the pretense of “being faithful to liturgical norms.” They seemed to contradict Canon Law, which says the salvation of the souls is the highest law. Allowing school concerts (for example) in the parish church while forbidding the Sacrifice of the Mass causes tremendous scandal to the faithful. Moreover, these are the same bishops who simply ignore serious liturgical questions when it suits them. For instance, when those same bishops are asked by priests why they don’t follow certain liturgical norms—yet follow TRADITIONIS CUSTODES rigidly—they have no answer … so they ignore the inquiry. If those bishops wanted to be faithful to liturgical norms, they would obey the mandates of Vatican II. But they often don’t, and give no explanation. For example, the Second Vatican Council solemnly declared: “the Latin language is to be retained by clerics in the divine office” (except for individual cases). I could enumerate many other liturgical norms which bishops disobey. If you write them letters asking why, don’t be surprised when you get ignored.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Eliminate Stacked Hymn Verses Last Updated: November 8, 2024

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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

«In the same quarter where he was crucified there was a garden.» (John 19:41) — The word “garden” hinted at Eden and the fall of man, as it also suggested through its flowers in the springtime the Resurrection from the dead.

— Fulton J. Sheen

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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