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

Corpus Christi Watershed

We’re a 501(c)3 public charity established in 2006. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and run no advertisements. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors.

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • 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

Mass Propers In English

Jeff Ostrowski · August 11, 2014

970 Catholic Missalettes Readings HEN PERMISSION was first granted in 1969 to replace 1 the assigned texts for Entrance, Offertory, and Communion, music directors were excited. However, 40+ years later, this “freedom” has morphed into a type of “burden,” leading many musicians to return again to the Church’s official prayers.

Before going further, please examine the Entrance Chant  for the 1st Sunday of Lent:

* *  ENTRANCE CHANT: 1st Sunday of Lent

Below, I’ve provided ONLY THIS CHANT for ease of comparison. You might want to first listen to the Latin version, so you can see how closely each composer imitated it. You can also read an article with suggestions on setting the Graduale in English.

2014 • PROPER OF THE MASS FOR SUNDAYS AND SOLEMNITIES (1,200 pages)

Fr. Samuel Weber’s masterpiece will be released by Ignatius Press before the end of 2014. Practice recordings, organ accompaniments, and a cantor book will follow. Multiple versions for each chant are provided.   (more info)

      * *  PDF Sample: Fr. Weber — 1st Version     •     (mp3)

* *  PDF Sample: Fr. Weber — 2nd Version     •     (mp3)

* *  PDF Sample: Fr. Weber — 3rd Version     •     (mp3)


2013 • LALEMANT PROPERS (391 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

The Gradual is here set to a very simple tone. The (approved) translation is identical to the Simple English Propers, Jogues Missal, and Gregorian Missal of Solesmes.

      * *  PDF Sample: Lalemant Propers     •     (mp3)


2013 • ENTRANCE, OFFERTORY, & COMMUNION ANTIPHONS (410 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

Peter R. Johnson uses modern notation and includes fully-notated Psalm verses.

      * *  PDF Sample: Peter R. Johnson     •     (mp3)


2012 • GRADUALE PARVUM (179 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

This book was created by the Birmingham Oratory under the direction of Fr. Guy Nicholls.

      * *  PDF Sample: Fr. Guy Nicholls     •     (mp3)


2012 • ENTRANCE & COMMUNION ANTIPHONS (496 pages) — DOWNLOAD:   ENTR   •   COMM

Fr. Columba Kelly’s antiphons will be published in modern notation by OCP before 2014 ends.

      * *  PDF Sample: Fr. Columba Kelly     •     (mp3)


2011 • CONGREGATIONAL ENTRANCE ANTIPHONS (211 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

Richard Rice’s Entrance antiphons were included in the St. Michael Hymnal.

      * *  PDF Sample: Richard Rice     •     (mp3)


2011 • SIMPLE ENGLISH PROPERS (439 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

This publication by the Church Music Association of America (CMAA) has melodies by Adam Bartlett with typesetting by Steven Van Roode. Complete practice videos can be found here.

      * *  PDF Sample: Simple English Propers (SEP)     •     (mp3)

* *  Ryan Dingess (SEP organ accompaniments)     •     (sample)


2008 • THE AMERICAN GRADUAL (415 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

Bruce E. Ford has adapted the official Latin melodies into English using modern notation.

      * *  PDF Sample: Bruce E. Ford     •     (mp3)


2006 • ANGLICAN USE GRADUAL (502 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

C. David Burt created this edition for Roman Catholics who (lawfully) use Anglican rites.

      * *  PDF Sample: Anglican Use Gradual     •     (mp3)


1965 • PLAINCHANT GRADUAL (543 pages) — DOWNLOAD:   VOL. 1-2   •   VOL. 3-4

Palmer & Burgess have adapted the entire Graduale Romanum into English (square notation).

      * *  PDF Sample: Palmer & Burgess (1965)     •     (mp3)


1964 • COMPLETE ENGLISH PROPERS FOR THE HIGH MASS (176 pages) — (DOWNLOAD COLLECTION)

Paul Arbogast and his team adapted the Graduale into English using simple melodies.

      * *  PDF Sample: Fr. Paul Arbogast (1964)     •     (mp3)


Remember! These recordings were made by a soloist,
but the pieces should be sung by a Schola of singers.


ORE COLLECTIONS COULD easily be added to this list. 2 Some might ask, “What’s the point of all these Propers in English: why not Latin?” The reality is, most Masses in the United States are offered completely in the vernacular—something Vatican II never envisioned. In such cases, Latin Propers can sound aesthetically weird.

You probably noticed the different approaches 3 chosen by the composers above. For this reason, I recommend the following as your starting point:

* *  Jogues Illuminated Missal, Lectionary, & Gradual — Pew Resource (2014)

It’s fully complete, includes the Latin & English versions, and has been approved by the USCCB. Because the Jogues uses the “sung” versions of the antiphons, there’s no difficulty if parishes occasionally “mix in” the authentic Latin pieces, like the Communion antiphons from the Graduale Romanum.

HE CHANTS FOUND in the Roman Gradual are incredibly ancient, going back more than 1,500 years. The following image is from 1390AD, but the same piece could easily be shown from 1100AD or 850AD. Can you find the chant we’ve been talking about throughout this article? Remember, it’s called Invocabit Me, and here’s a hint: the initial letter “I” is humongous!

971 Missalette

Roosevelt was President while paralyzed. Churchill gave speeches but couldn’t pronounce “S” correctly. Surely, then, we can begin to implement Mass Propers with these 11 collections!

 


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Permission to substitute “another liturgical chant” (alius cantus congruus) went far beyond §32 of Musicam Sacram (1967) and surprised many liturgists. This may explain why Bugnini concealed the GIRM from all other curial offices until it had already been approved.

The Latin word cantus should be translated as “chant.” While cantus can sometimes denote other musical genres (e.g. songs), Latin has more specific words for such items: hymnus, carmen, cantilena, and so on. Because Latin is 3,000 years old, it’s necessary to understand context. The context here clearly points to “chant.” Moreover, the GIRM uses specific terms like hymnus in other places. However, hymns and songs have replaced the assigned texts by means of the “alius cantus” option since the 1970s, and priests ought to be sensitive to this fact.

2   Andrew Motyka set English translations for all the Graduale Communion antiphons here. Richard Rice set the Propers using simple harmonies in his Simple Choral Gradual. His version of the above chant is here. A similar collection of choral Propers was created by Healey Willan in 1957. His collection is worth purchasing, and his Alleluia settings are noteworthy. Willan’s version of the above chant is here. In 2005, Christoph Tietze created a collection of metrical Entrance chants to allow congregations to join in. Tietze’s version of the above chant is here. However, as we’ve discussed, attempting to “fit” the Propers into metrical hymn tunes usually yields inadequate results. The Propers have been set in Latin thousands of times, and a surprising number of these collections are available online. I plan to create a webpage enumerating them at a future date.

3   Some collections abbreviate the antiphons. Some omit the psalm verses, while others take them from Versus Psalmorum et Canticorum (Solesmes), and still others follow the recommendations in the Graduale Romanum. Some take the “spoken” chants in the Missal as their model, while others use the “sung” propers from the postconciliar Gradual. Various translations are used, since there is no official translation of the Gradual. Sometimes, the editors claim their translations come from the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, but this is misleading, since the Missal antiphons don’t match the sung versions, and entire sections were omitted from the Roman Missal (e.g. the Offertory antiphons).

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Graduale Romanum Roman Gradual Propers, Hymns Replacing Propers, Sung Vs Spoken Propers Novus Ordo Last Updated: November 24, 2020

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

    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for Pentecost Sunday (8 June 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Because our choir is on break this week, the music is relatively simple.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)
    I stumbled upon this live recording of a PROCESSIONAL I played on the pipe organ in 2002. It’s an excerpt from a much longer composition by Sebastian Bach. In those days, there weren’t sophisticated recording devices allowing one “fix” wrong notes. (Perhaps they existed, but we didn’t have machines like that.) So it was necessary to play the entire piece from beginning to end. If you’re a church organist, feel free to download the PDF score. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until some joker uses “artificial intelligence” to play music at church … but there’s something so satisfying about playing an organ in real life.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“There are some so restless that when they are free from labour they labour all the more, because the more leisure they have for thought, the worse interior turmoil they have to bear.”

— Pope Gregory the Great

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
  • “Participation” • Recovering its Receptive Dimension
  • “Breathtaking Photographs” • First Mass of Father Michael Caughey, FSSP (Muskegon, MI)

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.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up