Views from the Choir Loft

Hymns for the Holy Name of Jesus

Andrea Leal · December 31, 2020

E ARE QUICKLY approaching the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus this Sunday in the Extraordinary Form calendar. As many of us continue to face restrictions for our choirs (if they are allowed at all), I wanted to take a moment to share a series of chant hymns for the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus that could be sung by a single cantor or by a very small group of singers. Although we can acknowledge that Gregorian chant is not ideally sung as a solo, there are times when it simply must be so, such as now.

I lifted these hymns straight out of the Franciscan Cantuale Romano-Seraphicum, which has an entire section dedicated to chants for the Holy Name of Jesus. Some of these hymns will be familiar, and others you’ve surely never set eyes on before today.

Gregorian Chant Hymns in Honor of the Holy Name of Jesus

I know that few people ever look in these rare Franciscan hymnals, so I thought I would dust some off for you since I have had the good fortune using them recently when we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis in the Extraordinary Form on October 4th. It has been a fascinating peek into these rare hymnals. Here is a clip of the gorgeous, joyous and uplifting Alleluia verse for that feast day. Another treasure was the rare sequence, Sanctitatis Nova Signa for the same feast, which I quickly recorded for the use of our Schola. I might have made a more careful recording of it had I known that this was going to end up being made public!

Resources for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (EF)

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About Andrea Leal

Andrea Leal is a wife and homeschooling mother of 6 children. She serves as choir director for the Traditional Latin Mass in Las Vegas.—(Read full biography).

Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Luis Martínez Must Go!

Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

—Jeff Ostrowski

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A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!

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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