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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

Does It Make Sense to Alphabetize Hymnals?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 5, 2023

N THE FOOTNOTE to a recent article, I mentioned something about TLM parishes. As someone involved with the “Traditionalist movement” since the 1990s (on multiple continents and all over the USA), I have personally dealt with hundreds of TLM priests. When it comes to TLM parishes, one thing is certain: parishioners who act the most pharisaical (i.e. “judgmental and hypocritical”) are almost without exception those whose personal lives are the most disordered, corrupt, and depraved. A professional psychologist would probably have a field day with that reality. We must guard against letting “one bad apple spoil the whole barrel.”

Ordinary Form! • Please do not assume I am ‘targeting’ EF communities. Believe me, OF communities can have more than their fair share of problems. There’s a false perception these days that Ordinary Form parishes are more welcoming than TLM parishes. This hasn’t been my experience at all. For the last 30 years, our various TLM communities frequently “shared” parishes with the Ordinary Form. That means EF and OF communities had to live together in the same church. I remember one parish had huge banners all over the place saying: “We welcome everyone! You have a home here!” And yet, the actual people in charge of that parish—which was mainly run by lay Catholics—were some of the nastiest people I ever encountered. I was treated with contempt for the “crime” of directing music at an EF Mass. Indeed, I was once threatened physically by a member of their parish council who declared: “We can get rid of you people anytime we want.” (I wasn’t really frightened when he raised his cane at me because he was elderly.) I tried to offer up the various abuses I suffered, but it wasn’t easy. By the way, I’m not trying to come across as some kind of martyr. I’m merely pointing out that just because people post “welcoming” banners all over the place doesn’t guarantee they’re nice people. On the other hand, some of the OF parishes were really wonderful. I still remember Monsignor Trompeter (d. 2003), who used to tell us stories about what it was like when he was a seminarian during World War I.

Context Is Key • All that I’ve written so far was my (rather cumbersome) attempt to lead up to something important. Context is key. At the inhospitable parish I mentioned, the music director—who was insanely jealous of our choir—made a huge gesture of allowing our organist to use one of the pipe organ’s memory levels. Perhaps you’re saying to yourself: “Jeff sure does come across as ungrateful. Here they are generously allowing his organist to use one of the memory levels, and he’s not even grateful.” But context is key! That particular pipe organ had like seventy (70) different memory levels! Moreover, that particular Ordinary Form parish often used the piano (!) and didn’t even have an organist—whereas our community’s organist had a doctorate! I don’t think it would have killed them to let our organist use more than one memory level.

Alphabetize Hymns? • When asked whether it makes sense to alphabetize the songs in a hymnal, I suspect most would say: “Absolutely, because then you can easily find the song you want quickly.” Believe it or not, that’s the wrong answer—and this video explains:

Here’s the direct URL link.

One Final Example • To give another example, suppose you approached folks on the street. And suppose you said to them: “The truck driver’s manual says any driver who leaves his truck will be terminated. Therefore, does a driver who leaves his truck—and gets fired—have a right to file a wrongful termination suit?” Needless to say, 99% would reply: “Absolutely not! The manual clearly says the drive cannot leave his truck.” But context is key! You failed to mention the truck broke down in a blizzard, and if the aforementioned driver hadn’t “left his truck” he would have frozen to death! Context is key.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Arthur J. Trompeter Last Updated: May 21, 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

    “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
    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —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

“The plea that the laity as a body do not want liturgical change, whether in rite or in language, is, I submit, quite beside the point. … (it is) not a question of what people want; it is a question of what is good for them.”

— Dom Gregory A. Murray (14 March 1964)

Recent Posts

  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations
  • PDF Download • “Marian Antiphon Booklet” (4 pages) + Five Rhythmic Considerations

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