WILL GO TO MY GRAVE without understanding certain things about the Roman Rite. For example, during the procession with palm branches on Palm Sunday, the GRADUALE ROMANUM assigns pieces which are elaborate, lengthy, intricate, and incredibly difficult to sing. Singing with a choir outdoors while walking is already problematic—unless you don’t care how bad it sounds. Anything selected for an “outdoor procession” should be very simple; yet (as I just mentioned) the pieces assigned in the official books are enormously difficult, even for elite singers. I’ll have more to say about this in a moment.
Ash Wednesday • During the distribution of the ashes on ASH WEDNESDAY, the church assigns several antiphons. Owing to their difficulty, they’re usually sung poorly. In light of this situation, the following score might come in handy. It’s a psalm tone version of all the antiphons assigned to be sung during the distribution of ashes, with a simple SATB refrain:
It’s eminently appropriate throughout the entire Lenten season.
My volunteer choir recently sang it:
Palm Sunday Procession (1 of 2) • I mentioned earlier that the GRADUALE ROMANUM prescribes antiphons for the Palm Sunday procession which are impossible to sing properly outdoors (while walking) because of their great intricacy and wide tessitura. Consider Cum Audísset Pópulus, assigned in the traditional Holy Week. The revisions made in 1956 under Pope Pius XII didn’t help; they actually made matters worse. The reformers eliminated some of the traditional antiphons, but their “replacements” were also of enormous length and difficulty. If you doubt what I say, look up the antiphon called “Ave Rex Noster.”
Palm Sunday Procession (2 of 2) • Who decided to assign such difficult pieces during an outdoor procession? And things get even more confusing, because many composers wrote organ accompaniments (!) for these chants! They go on and on forever, taking up many pages. Here’s a brief excerpt from the organ accompaniments produced by Dr. Peter Wagner (Commissionis Pontificiæ Gregorianæ Membrum) published circa 1909:
And here’s an excerpt from the organ accompaniment to the seventh antiphon (“Ave Rex Noster”), as published in the NOH by the LEMMENSINSTITUUT:
Pipe Organ Outside? • Some people say the organ accompaniments were written “for rehearsal only”—but I find such an idea highly improbable. Again, why were pages and pages of organ accompaniments included for an outdoor procession? The pipe organ cannot be carried outside. If I had to guess, I would posit that (perhaps?) the procession with palms happened inside the church.
This doesn’t necessarily apply to Catholics, but Episcopalians in 1921 (in America) left a Cantor inside the building to sing the complicated antiphons while everybody else was processing outside.
For The Record • Nobody really knows when each volume of the NOH first appeared. However, we know for certain they came out before Pope Pius XII modified Holy Week … and kept being printed afterwards. I own editions containing both the 1950 Holy Week and the 1956 Holy Week. Those who desire a detailed comparison of the 1950 version and the 1956 version should obtain the third edition of the Saint Edmund Campion Missal, without question the most beautifully printed book I’ve ever seen.
