Views from the Choir Loft

An FYI on EP in the OF – Part 2

Andrew R. Motyka · June 5, 2013

For Part 1 of this series, please click HERE.

WO WEEKS AGO (I’ve been lazy), we covered the first part of Evening Prayer, specifically, the Hymn and Psalmody. This contains the real “meat” of the liturgy, since the Liturgy of the Hours centers around the proclamation of the Psalms. This week, we will take a look at the reading and Responsory.

Immediately following the psalms is the reading. The reading is prescribed for each specific day of the cycle, or for the given feast on the calendar. It is permissible to use a different reading, usually from the Mass of the day, as a substitution, but in my opinion you should stick with the prescribed reading for the day. The cycle is there for a reason.

If a priest or a deacon is leading Evening Prayer, he may give a homily at this time, but it is optional. Following the reading (or homily), the Responsory is sung. The Responsory is an odd moment in the Ordinary Form because it is quite short. For this reason, singing it is one of the only ways to make it non-trivial. It is best to sing this with a cantor, and the form of the Responsory follows:

Responsory (Phrases A and B) – cantor

Responsory (Phrases A and B) – all

Versicle (a short verse) – cantor

Responsory (Phrase B only) – all

Doxology (only the first part, up to “Holy Spirit”) – cantor

Reponsory (Phrases A and B) – all

It is best to simply see this, in full text, for an example. Following my previous examples, let us look at the text of the Responsory for May 31, the Feast of the Visitation:

Hail Mary, full of grace, —the Lord is with you.
Hail Mary, full of grace, —the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
—the Lord is with you.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
—Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

This form lends itself well to very simple musical adaptations. Here is an example of the above text:

DOWNLOAD a sample responsory.

Next week, we will wrap up our examination of Evening Prayer and its defining canticle, the Magnificat.

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

About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

“Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 2025). 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 feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon

This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly

Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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