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Views from the Choir Loft

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 1 of 7

Andrew R. Motyka · April 15, 2015

921 Samuel Weber Proper English Ignatius Press ATHER SAMUEL WEBER’S new resource, The Proper of the Mass for Sundays and Solemnities, may not be a game-changer in its novelty, but its execution sets an extremely high bar for those of us interested in the musical proper of the Mass. The usefulness of this book to the average 1 choir is evident even at first glance.   (View Images)

As its title suggests, this is a full set of the Proper of the Mass for each Sunday of the liturgical year. What sets this book apart, however, is the approach which Fr. Weber took in his treatment of each psalm. He is undoubtedly one of the modern masters of setting English chant.

Most propers in the book have four (!) different settings:

1. A MELISMATIC SETTING (sample video) that is not a direct transcription of the Gregorian original, but quotes it extensively, making modifications to elucidate the English text rather than the Latin.

2. A SIMPLIFIED SETTING (sample video) of the above, which is through-composed but much more accessible to singers who are not quite as strong at chanting. I would say these are comparable to the Graduale Simplex in their difficulty.

3. A GREGORIAN PSALM TONE (sample video) setting of the text.

4. AN ENGLISH PSALM TONE (sample video) setting of the text.

Overall, I would say this is the closest thing I have seen to an English spiritual descendent of the Graduale Romanum. Furthermore, each setting contains several psalm verses. These are extremely useful since they are not printed in the Latin Gradual (just the Scriptural citations). Being so closely adapted from the Gregorian originals, these “smell” of the liturgy, which is always a good thing. Recalling Pope Saint John Paul II’s statement that the sacrality and liturgical appropriateness of a piece can be judged by comparing it to the Gregorian form, we have here a strong contender.

What does this mean for your choir (and mine)? For me, it adds yet another option for singing the Proper of the Mass, which is something I am always on the lookout for. At my parish, we use a combination of St. Meinrad psalm tones, hymn settings of the Introit texts, chants from the Simple English Propers, my own Communion settings, and settings from the Graduale Romanum as rehearsal time permits. Fr. Weber’s new book is one I will gladly add to the above, in any iteration of the text.


This book could actually be a great way to teach a beginning schola how to chant from Gregorian notation. By beginning with the simplest settings, one could easily introduce the early concepts of mode, neumes, and the style of proclamation, gradually (get it?) progressing to the more ornamental settings. This book is not only useful as a liturgical resource, but a pedagogical one.

We here at Views from the Choir Loft will have a lot more to say about this wonderful resource in the coming days, and all of it will be deserved. It calls for three cheers from the liturgical music community.

This article is part of a series on Fr. Weber’s Book of Propers:

Part 1 • Andrew Motyka

Part 2 • Richard Clark

Part 3 • Veronica Brandt

Part 4 • Fr. David Friel

Part 5 • Andrew Leung

Part 6 • Dr. Lucas Tappan

Part 7 • Jeff Ostrowski



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Or above average, or even advanced!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Proper of the Mass in English, Propers Ignatius Press by Fr Samuel Weber Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

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

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For the Upcoming Choir Season!

Last week, I posted an SATB choral setting of the SANCTUS in a ‘contemporary’ style. You might want to consider this piece for two reasons: (1) It’s extremely brief; (2) Free rehearsal videos are available for each individual part. The piece is by Father Lhoumeau.

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • “Sunday Vespers” (22 pages)

When an organist accompanies Vespers, there is no time to think. It’s one thing after another: Bam – Bam – Bam. And that’s what makes Vespers difficult to accompany; there’s hardly even time to check the key signature for each piece! Therefore, although it’s far from perfect, I’m releasing this 22-page booklet:

PDF Download • SUNDAY VESPERS ACCOMPANIMENT

As time goes on, I will explain why I believe this booklet is important, my hopes for it, and why I selected the official edition, directly from the Vesperale Romanum. In spite of its imperfections, creating this (draft) booklet required much more effort than I had anticipated.

—Jeff Ostrowski
11 July 2022 • FEEDBACK

Someone who heard the CCW plainsong recordings with NOH accompaniment says: “For years I have travelled the continents and crossed the oceans of Gregorian chant in search of a composition and interpretation as sublime as this. The text and the melody are interwoven in a game of mirrors with the interpreters, the singer and the instrumentalist, so as to confer delicacy on the jubilation. The organ is soft, humble. This is what we hear from the singer. These artists have come together to produce beauty. In 1903, Pope Pius X, by motu proprio, restored Gregorian chant in the Latin Church. In his words: Sacred music must possess, to an eminent degree, the qualities proper to the liturgy, and notably the sanctity and delicacy of form, whence another characteristic spontaneously results, universality. I stress: the holiness and delicacy of forms result in universality, time and place. That is to say, sometimes the beauty of human hands gently caresses the face of the Eternal.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“And thus, when we renounce for Thee | Its restless aims and fears, | The tender mem’ries of the past, | The hopes of coming years, | Poor is our sacrifice, whose eyes | Are lighted from above; | We offer what we cannot keep, | What we have ceased to love.”

— Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

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