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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

Entrance Antiphons • “Transitioning from a Contemporary to Sacred Music Program”

Rebecca De La Torre · October 22, 2024

AVING WORKED with Jeff Ostrowski on several projects in the past, I’m so glad to be joining CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED as an author. I’ve long admired the excellent work done by the various contributors here, and I look forward to a beautiful and fruitful collaboration. Over the last few years I’ve been transitioning from a completely contemporary music program (at a church with a contemporary-music-loving congregation) into one that implements more and more sacred works. Though a slow process, it has been a complete success thus far. Our liturgies are more prayerful and the gentle approach has lost us ZERO parishioners. In fact, (at the time of this writing) our numbers have increased a little above Pre-COVID attendance.

Chanting The Propers • Mr. Ostrowski has encouraged me to share with our readers some of the techniques that have met with success here at my parish in Arizona. One way I’ve been introducing sacred music—besides using venerable hymn tunes with ancient texts—is chanting the propers. Below is one such ENTRANCE ANTIPHON for this coming Sunday in Gregorian Mode IV:

*  PDF Download • ENTRANCE ANTIPHON (Rebecca De La Torre)
—For the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

As with all of the (hundreds of) scores on my website, The Modern Psalmist, I record and provide rehearsal tracks free of charge:

*  Mp3 Download • ENTRANCE ANTIPHON (Rebecca De La Torre)

Transition Time! • For a choir accustomed to contemporary music, Gregorian chant was intimidating at first. But one method that’s worked well for me is to maintain a single mode for an extended period of time. That way, there’s a congruence from Sunday to Sunday, making the “new style” (though ancient) less intimidating—for both the choir *and* the congregation. For this purpose, I decided to compose Entrance Antiphons in Mode IV. These are simple propers, but not to the point of being monotone. To get a good intuitive feel for Mode IV, I studied the following ancient works from the GRADUALE ROMANUM: SANCTUS (from Mass III); AGNUS DEI (from Mass III), CREDO I (called the “authentic” or “cardinal” creed tone in the ancient manuscripts).

The Same In Spanish • Our congregation is predominantly Latino so I compose everything (!) in English and Spanish. You can download the Spanish version of the same ENTRANCE ANTIPHON for this Sunday here:

*  PDF Download • ENTRANCE ANTIPHON (Spanish)
—Antífona de Entrada • 30º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Modo IV, De La Torre).

As I already mentioned, on my website I provide—free of charge—rehearsal tracks for absolutely everything. Click here to instantly hear that Spanish ENTRANCE ANTIPHON.

The Future • My website consists of many thousands of scores, rehearsal videos, and mp3 files. Almost all of them are completely free, but you need to create a login. Over the next few years, I look forward to (each week) making readers aware of what I offer—again, everything I will share here is 100% free once you create a login—because I realize it can be overwhelming. If you find my resources helpful, I hope you will take advantage of all of them! Regardless, I think it’s important for everyone to at least be aware of what I offer. (A new project I’m particularly excited about is pronunciation guides for Spanish.)

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: October 23, 2024

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About Rebecca De La Torre

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Arizona State University. She resides with her husband and daughter in Phoenix, Arizona.—(Read full biography).

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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

For the most part, a “good pope” is defined as someone who does what the critic would do if he were pope.

— William F. Buckley Jr. (6 September 1978)

Recent Posts

  • A Practical Method of Projecting Solfege for Chant
  • PDF Downloads • Four (4) Simple Pieces in Harmony for Men’s Choirs
  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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