• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

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.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

“My Song Is Love Unknown” • Jeff Attempts to Sing All Parts … Including the Female Voices!

Jeff Ostrowski · March 8, 2025

Update: My choir attempted this hymn
at yesterday’s Mass for the first time.
Gorgeous harmonies enter at marker 0:28.

UMAN BEINGS are captivated by irony. I remember learning about a sedevacantist group in Kansas during the 1990s. They claimed Pope Pius XII was the last ‘true’ pope and considered him the paragon of liturgical propriety. They especially loved how he was crowned with the papal TIARA. If they’d only known the truth! From a liturgical standpoint, Pope Pius XII was insanely progressive. He eliminated the midnight fast, permitted evening Masses, allowed the laity to chant the readings at Mass (during Holy Week), allowed the congregation to recite the Pater Noster and Proprium Missae (!) along with the priest, and—believe it or not—attempted to replace the ancient Psalter, which would have necessitated changing every liturgical book in existence.1 One of the cruelest things Pope Pius XII did was to suppress the ancient tradition of TENEBRAE, although the major Roman churches ignored this. In a moment, I’ll explain why I bring this up.

Lenten Hymn • Yesterday, I attempted to record all the vocal parts for a famous Lenten Hymn called “My Song Is Love Unknown.” It appears as #65 in the LONDON ORATORY HYMN BOOK. In the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal, it is #689. By switching the text, Dr. Theodore Marier used that melody numerous times in his hymnal. (He seems to have been deeply attached to it.)

I’m a baritone, but I did my best to sing the female voices:

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

Acceptable Criticism • With the benefit of hindsight, it’s okay to criticize certain things Pope Pius XII did, even though he was one of the most intelligent men who ever lived. But this should only be done by people who genuinely know what they’re talking about. It should not be done by people only capable of parroting what others say. Nor should it be done by those whose only goal is to attack the church. Readers have probably noticed that certain ‘professional Catholics’ desire only one thing: clicks. These authors are usually “terminally online,” and nothing makes them happier than a juicy scandal. As my mother would say: “Any old stick will do to beat the Church.” If a new report comes out indicating Catholics are abandoning their faith, such authors become positively gleeful. Let’s leave such people to one side.

Unintended Consequences • Even Pope Saint Pius X—as holy and great as he was—made mistakes. In 1903, he issued a famous MOTU PROPRIO called “Inter Pastoralis Officii Sollicitudines,” reforming sacred music. Many of his reforms were excellent. On the other hand, sometimes his legislation was interpreted as banning everything except plainsong. That meant that certain beautiful traditions were abandoned. For instance, many parishes sang Sunday Vespers in figured music. Owing to the new legislation of Pope Pius X, many parishes discontinued such things. In the days before the internet, when so many were poor and uneducated, it wasn’t always possible to implement plainsong, especially since many of the instructional booklets were printed in Latin. Moreover, learning how to sing Gregorian Chant from a book can be difficult.

Even more damaging was the reform of Holy Week under Pope Pius XII, which—by moving the ceremonies to untraditional times—effectively eliminated beautiful parish traditions the faithful profited from, such as The Seven Last Words Of Christ and the Stations of the Cross. If memory serves, Pope Pius XII annihilated Easter Sunday Matins and severely truncated Easter Sunday Lauds. But if any day of the year should have Matins, surely Easter Sunday ought to!

Gregorian Rhythm • Ever since 1984’s Quattuor Abhinc Annos, many Catholic communities follow the liturgical books of 1962—but there’s something I’ll never understand. On the one hand, musicians who prepare ceremonies according to 1962 will spend hours arguing about rubrical minutiae, citing Monsignor Pio Martinucci, Father Louis Stercky, Father Adrian Fortescue, Father John O’Connell, Father Innocent Wapelhorst, and so forth. On the other hand, these same people couldn’t care less about 1962 legislation vis-à-vis the rhythm of Gregorian Chant. When Pope Pius X promulgated the EDITIO VATICANA, he was specific and explicit about what rhythmic system was to be followed. That legislation was upheld and reinforced as late as 1958. I know of one musician who works in a “formerly Ecclesia Dei community” who devised his own system of rhythm—which no scholar in the galaxy agrees with. I’d like to know about why such folks are so conscientious regarding every rubric, yet downright sloppy when it comes to the important matter of the official edition’s rhythm, which effects every phrase of every piece.

Conclusion • The hymn above (“My Song Is Love Unknown”) isn’t directly from the liturgy. Some might say it’s a bit sentimental. On the other hand, I feel there’s a place for such para-liturgical items in any healthy parish. What do you think?

1 The Pius XII Psalter—a.k.a. the “Bea Psalter”—was eventually abandoned. Various authorities disagree as to whether it was ever mandatory. (I’ve seen ‘hard’ evidence supporting both sides of that argument.) Regarding TENEBRAE, I’m using shorthand when I say Pius XII “suppressed” it. In other words, it could still technically be sung if the faithful got up extremely early in the morning. But the traditional place (for centuries) was each evening during Holy Week, since the liturgical action took place in the morning. I won’t insult the reader’s intelligence by explaining the effect of moving TENEBRAE to the crack of dawn… It’s rather like what happens when a priest says: “You can have a TLM, but it will take place 3:00pm on Sunday afternoon.” And then they act shocked when attendance is sparse. In the 1960s, people experimented with something called the “Beatles Mass.” It was basically the Mass accompanied by Rock’n Roll instead of sacred music. It would have been wise for priests in those days to place the Beatles Mass at 5:00am on Sunday morning—with the predictable impact on attendance. Such tricks are called “virtual suppression.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: BEA PSALTER, Father Innocent Liturgical Wapelhorst, Father John B O'Connell Rubrics, Father Louis Stercky Liturgical Rubrics, Gregorian Rhythm Wars, Inter Pastoralis Officii 1903 Motu Proprio, Monsignor Pio Martinucci, My Song Is Love Unknown HYMN, Pope Pius XII Psalter, Quattuor Abhinc Annos John Paul II, Rev Fr Adrian Fortescue Liturgy Last Updated: May 27, 2025

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

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

“A father cannot introduce mistrust and division among his faithful children. He cannot humiliate some by setting them against others. He cannot ostracize some of his priests. The peace and unity that the Church claims to offer to the world must first be lived within the Church. ”

— Cardinal Sarah (14 August 2021)

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.