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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

“Attendance Policy” • For Volunteer Catholic Choirs

Jeff Ostrowski · February 23, 2025

N PREVIOUS YEARS, my colleague ANDREA LEAL (whom I admire immensely) handled the interviews for the Sacred Music Symposium. This year, I’m in charge of interviewing the candidates before each dossier is reviewed by faculty members. I’m really enjoying meeting (and speaking to) those who have applied. Something tells me this year’s conference is going to be the best one yet. If you haven’t yet applied to Sacred Music Symposium 2025, I strongly urge you to do so. There’s no application fee this year, so you have nothing to lose!

Attendance Policy • Something we’ll be discussing quite a lot this coming summer at the symposium is “the best attendance policy” for volunteer choirs. You won’t want to miss this.

Accepting Reality • Some choirmasters refuse to reveal samples of their choirs saying: “Some of our best singers were missing that day—so it’s not a fair representation.” The conscientious choirmaster realizes there will always be absences; one must learn to expect that. Today, I’m doing something unusual. Recently, several of my most proficient1 female singers were absent. In spite of this, do you agree our choir still sounds quite nice?

Here’s the direct URL link.

No Microphone Can Capture • No microphone can accurately reproduce a true choral sound—but hopefully that ‘live’ recording gives you a rough idea how we sound (even without several of our most proficient females). On a different Sunday, a whole bunch of our men were absent. Nevertheless, I think our choir sounded fine. Here’s a sample from that Sunday:

*  Mp3 Download • Polyphonic “Extension” (HOSANNA)
—On this particular Sunday, many of our male singers were absent.

Fabulous Acoustics • What follows is another sample (from that same Sunday) singing Hymn #202 from the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. I think you’ll agree the acoustics of our church are superb—and those who will participate in this year’s SACRED MUSIC SYMPOSIUM will have an opportunity to experience these acoustics firsthand.

*  Mp3 Download • Hymn Number 202
—On this particular Sunday, many of our male singers were absent.

(1 of 2) That Entrance Chant • When the ENTRANCE CHANT is sung at Ordinary Form Masses, it’s supposed to come from the Graduale Romanum. The texts printed in the priest’s SACRAMENTARY are only for private Masses (or Masses without music). In November of 2007, Bishop Donald Trautman—at that time CHAIRMAN of the USCCB Committee on the Liturgy—made the following declaration:

“Recent research, confirmed by unofficial discussions with officials of the Holy See during the past several years, has made clear that the antiphons of the Order of Mass were never intended to be sung, but are provided without notation to be recited whenever the Graduale Romanum or another song is not sung. The antiphons of the Missale Romanum, which differ substantially from the sung antiphons of the Roman Gradual, were never intended to be sung.”

The “Spoken Propers” are often referred to as the ADALBERT PROPERS since they were created in 1969 by Dom Adalbert Franquesa Garrós (d. 2005).

(2 of 2) That Entrance Chant • Listening to the ENTRANCE CHANT (see above), you probably noticed the phrase “weeping before the Lord.” If you look at the ADALBERT PROPERS, you’ll see that those words were removed. Nobody knows why Dom Adalbert insisted upon his copious modifications. He published a document attempting to explain why he changed the ancient prayers, but his explanation is bizarre, inexplicable, and possibly heretical. For instance, Dom Adalbert says that unless certain parts of Sacred Scripture are sung to particular melodies they “lose almost all of their meaning.” In another place, Dom Adalbert says: “The offertory antiphons rarely offer a text of pastoral worth.” He declares the propers for TRINITY SUNDAY “inappropriate”—yet offers no explanation for why he feels that way! I could continue, but you get the point. In my view, it’s best to stick with the ancient propers from the GRADUALE ROMANUM.

In Conclusion • By showing you recordings of my choir even with many singers absent, my intention has been to demonstrate it’s possible to arrive at a viable attendance policy. I will have much more to say about this at the Sacred Music Symposium during this coming June. I hope to see you there in person!

1 When I say “most proficient” I’m referring to singers who have years of experience singing in public. Not everyone has such experience. Not everyone has run their own vocal studio (private voice lessons) for decades. I love and value all my singers equally—but that doesn’t mean each of them has the same amount of experience and proficiency. When it comes to singing in public, one must take into consideration each singer’s level of expertise. Many of my singers are just starting out, and it’s thrilling to watch them develop and grow.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Father Adalbert Franquesa Garrós, Sacred Music Symposium 2025, THE ADALBERT PROPERS Last Updated: February 24, 2025

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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

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

At the Council of Trent, the subject was raised whether it was correct to refer to the unconsecrated elements of bread and wine as “immaculata hostia” (spotless victim) and “calix salutaris” (chalice of salvation) in the offertory prayers. Likewise the legitimacy of the making the sign of the cross over the elements after the Eucharistic consecration was discussed.

— ‘Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, Cong. Orat.’

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