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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

    17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025, which is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down.” The COMMUNION ANTIPHON—both text and melody—are particularly beautiful and exceedingly ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Errors in Latin: “17th Sund. Ordinary”
    The COMMUNION for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) contains several typos in the Jogues Illuminated Missal with regard to the Latin text. That particular COMMUNION ANTIPHON is extremely ancient, and the English Adaptation is utterly gorgeous. For the record, it’s normal for books to contain typos; even books by Father Fortescue and Monsignor Knox have errors. Books by Solesmes Abbey—surely among the finest ever produced—contain many printing errors. Click here to see a few examples of typos.
    —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

It should be borne in mind that there is no preference expressed in the liturgical legislation for either “versus populum” or “ad orientem.” Since both positions enjoy the favor of law, the legislation may not be invoked to say that one position or the other accords more closely with the mind of the Church.

— ‘Congregation for Divine Worship (Vatican City), 10 April 2000’

Recent Posts

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  • Errors in Latin: “17th Sund. Ordinary”
  • “Tell Me Lies; Tell Me Sweet Little Lies.” • Re: Post-Conciliar Lectionary Problems
  • PDF Download • “Catholic Texts Transcend”

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