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Views from the Choir Loft

Re: Copyright Status of “Abbey Psalms & Canticles” (PDF Chart)

Jeff Ostrowski · November 4, 2024

N THE YEAR 2013, six years after CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED was founded, we adopted a policy making clear we would no longer respond to any copyright inquiries. We adopted this policy because we’d been burned too many times. People would write to us asking copyright questions—and we’d respond. Those people would then go online and twist our words. Why did they do this? Some were malevolent. Others, however, had a false understanding of copyright. No matter how patiently we tried to explain matters to them, it didn’t make any difference. Certain people have a belief in their head and nothing can change it. You can talk until you’re blue in the face, but it won’t make any difference. Such people are the reason for our policy.

Abbey Psalms & Canticles

Brief History • Over the past few months, there’s been considerable discussion about whether the Abbey Psalms and Canticles is under copyright. If you’re wondering what the “Abbey Psalms and Canticles” translation is, please research it on GOOGLE. (It would take too long to explain its provenance.) For the purposes of this article, all you need to know is that the USCCB claims the Abbey Psalms and Canticles will someday replace the translation of the Responsorial Psalms printed in USA lectionaries. Whether this will actually take place is anyone’s guess.*

Damage Control • The Abbey Psalms and Canticles seems to be an effort at “damage control” after the USCCB’s copyright scheme with the Revised-Revised Grail was revealed publicly. Essentially, the copyright for the mandatory psalter had been given to a privately owned, non-Christian company (GIA PUBLICATIONS). Anyone who wanted to celebrate Mass, reproduce the Mass texts, or even broadcast the Mass on television or radio had to first obtain permission (!) from the non-Christian company and pay them money. If control had been given to a Protestant (non-Catholic) organization, that would have caused scandal; and rightly so. The fact that full control of our mandatory liturgical texts was given to a non-Christian organization (!) is even more shameful. As you might imagine, these heinous actions caused public outrage when they became known. For the record, the managing editor of the Church Music Association of America published an article claiming the Revised-Revised Grail translation had also been embedded in the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal.

Considerable Discussion • I’ve already reminded readers that our long-standing policy forbids our giving copyright guidance—under any circumstances—so I won’t be revealing my opinion on this matter. Nevertheless, there’s been considerable discussion online vis-à-vis whether the Abbey Psalms and Canticles translation is a candidate for copyright. Our readers have a right to know what the argument is about. Here’s a chart I made showing common Catholic translations for PSALM 33:

*  PDF • COMPARISON CHART (“Abbey Psalms & Canticles”)

The Issue Described • If I sneak into the LOUVRE tomorrow and draw a mustache on Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, that doesn’t mean I suddenly gain copyright on the Mona Lisa. That’s not how copyright works, even though some publishers claim otherwise. To place the entire issue into a nutshell, the Abbey Psalms and Canticles is virtually identical to translations which exist already. Because it’s so similar, folks are demanding to know whether it can be placed under copyright. They argue that merely changing a word here and there is insufficient to copyright the translation. Consider the first verse of Psalm 33:

Douay-Rheims-Challoner:
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise shall be always in my mouth.

Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition)
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Westminster Translation (1958)
I will bless the Lord at all times:
His praise shall be ever in my mouth.

Ladies of the Grail (1963)
I will bléss the Lórd at all tímes,
his práise álways on my líps;

The New American Bible
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall be always in my mouth.

Revised-Revised Grail Psalter
I will bless the Lord at all times;
praise of him is always in my mouth.

Abbey Psalms & Canticles
I will bless the Lord at all times,
praise of him is always in my mouth.

I could easily provide more examples, but hopefully you get the point.

Trolling Us? • Sometimes, it almost seems as if the people in charge are clowning us. For instance, in PSALM 28 they left everything the same except for one word. “Sat” they changed to “sits.” Are these people serious? Keeping liturgical musicians in suspense for twenty years … for changes like that? Are these people for real?

* For years, the USCCB claimed the Revised-Revised Grail translation was going to be printed in USA lectionaries. Some books, such as the WORSHIP IV HYMNAL (GIA Publications, 2011) attempted to “get a leg up on competition” by printing the Revised-Revised Grail in their books. But their plan backfired because the USCCB—it turns out—was being dishonest when they said the Revised-Revised Grail would appear in lectionaries. At some point, the USA lectionary itself may also be replaced or updated we are being told. It could be here (perhaps) as early as 2029. When the “new” lectionary was announced in 2012, Donald Cardinal Wuerl said: “The sooner we get started, the sooner some of you will live to see it.”

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Abbey Psalms and Canticles, New Lectionary Edition USA Last Updated: November 20, 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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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 is the choir that can make the most valuable contribution to the liturgy; it is through the choir that significant numbers of the congregation can make a significant and valuable offering in the community’s act of worship. The choir links directly academic excellence, artistic creation, disciplined attention and self expression in the making of something fitting for the worship of God.”

— Father Daniel Higgins, Choirmaster at Saint Edmund’s College, Ware

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