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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

A Chinese Mass Setting

Andrew Leung · February 1, 2018

AVE YOU EVER WONDERED what church music in the Far East sounds like? The following recording was captured live recently during a Mass sung by Vox Antiqua, my new choir in Hong Kong. This is a Mass setting by Fr. Si-Yan Tang of Macau. It is a “missa brevis” for two voices, containing three movements: Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. While Vox Antiqua mainly focus on promoting Western Church Music, (in fact we are working really hard on Stanford’s Beati Quorum Via and it is not the easiest piece for a 3-month-old choir to learn) we also try our best to pursue musical excellence in the local sacred music. You can follow us on Facebook and YouTube.

R. SI-YAN- TANG was born in Macau in 1939. He is the nephew of the late Archbishop Dominic Tang of Canton. During his time at St. Joseph Seminary, Fr. Tang studied music with the Austrian composer, Fr. Guilherme Schmid, SDB. Fr. Tang was ordained to the priesthood in 1964. He has been an active composer, especially composing sacred music in Chinese for the faithful in Hong Kong and Macau. He is also a very talented visual artist, skillful in Chinese and Western painting and Chinese calligraphy. Fr. Tang continues to serve as an assistant parish priest in the Diocese of Macau nowadays.

On a similar note, I recently discovered a setting of “Ave Maria“ (PDF) by Mons. Antonio Chi-Ming Lau on the website of the Sacred Music Commission of the Diocese of Hong Kong. This is a 4-parts piece with organ accompaniment. The piece is written mainly in a Chinese style, but you will also find a fugue towards the end of the piece. Mons. Lau was also a student of Fr. Schmid, and I shared a recording of his work a few weeks ago in this post.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

Thus in 1905 the Vatican Kyriale appeared with rhythmic signs and the following legend: “Præsens exemplar, rhythmicis signis a Solesmensibus monachis ornatum, typicae Vaticanæ editioni de cætero plane conforme repertum est.” (This copy, provided with rhythmic signs by the monks of Solesmes, completely agrees in every other respect with the Vatican original.)

— Dom Gregory Hügle, OSB

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