Liturgy of the Hours - Hymns

[St_Annes]

Does anyone have information/insight on the following question?:
We use Christian Prayer for the Liturgy of the Hours. However, many of the hymns they provide we do not know. Consequently, for seasons and feastdays, we find ourselves a little limited. Do you know if it is liturgically permissible to use hymns from a missalette or hymnal?

 

[OraLabora]

The answer can be found in the General Instructions. In short, it depends:

1. In the office for Sundays, solemnities, feasts of the Lord listed in the General Calendar, the weekdays of Lent and Holy Week, the days within the octaves of Easter and Christmas, and the weekdays from 17 to 24 December inclusive, it is never permissible to change the formularies that are proper or adapted to the celebration, such as antiphons, hymns, readings, responsories, prayers, and very often also the psalms.

However on certain occasions, it is permissible:

1. The readings, prayers, songs, and intercessions appointed for the weekdays of a particular season may be used on other weekdays of the same season.

So for instance if the Tuesday hymn for Vespers is better known than the Friday, it’s permissible to switch.

The instruction doesn’t mention only using Vespers hymns for Vespers or Lauds for Lauds, etc., but one should take care that the hymn respects the verity of the hour. IMHO it wouldn’t do, for instance, to have a hymn that glorifies the coming day at Vespers or one that gives thanks and praise for the day ending, at Lauds.

 

[porthos11]

I think the OP was asking as to whether it was permissible to use hymns from outside the breviary or the Liber Hymnarius.

 

[triumphguy]

Does anyone have information/insight on the following question?:
We use Christian Prayer for the Liturgy of the Hours. However, many of the hymns they provide we do not know. Consequently, for seasons and feastdays, we find ourselves a little limited. Do you know if it is liturgically permissible to use hymns from a missalette or hymnal?

Yes, as long as appropriate to the day, feast, season and hour sung.

This answer is not based on the rubrics, or the general Instruction etc., but commonsense.

If you were canonically bound to say the office my answer would be different: I would say ask your formation director, and if out of formation, ask the nearest liturgical expert in your diocese or religious community.

If you lived in a religious community and said the office in common then you would’nt have to ask.

You are making an effort to pray the “prayer of the church” and I know you want to do it right, but sometimes we just do the best we can.

And OraLabora is right too.

 

[porthos11]

All this being said though, I have Christian Prayer and I know for a fact that (assuming you’re using the standard print edition), the hymns are at the back with musical notation. That makes it really easy to sing the hymns.

And no, I cannot read music. I used a piano keyboard or cellphone to help me learn the tunes, which mostly awful easy. Except for the Lucien Deiss ones which I absolutely despise. In fact, I have just put in some money for a Liber Hymnarius for such days as those that have only the Deiss songs.

 

[Windmill]

The hymns in the CP and LOTH are substitute hymns anyway, so I don’t see a problem with using any other “unofficial” hymn. The official hymns are in Latin and can be found in the Liber Hymnarius.

It’s the same with the Mass. There is a Latin Introit, Gradual, Offertory Antiphon, and Communion Antiphon that are the official parts of the Mass for that particular Sunday of the year. Instead, at a typical English Mass you have an Entrance Song, a Responsorial Psalm, an Offertory Song, and a Communion Song. These are chosen at the liberty of the Music Director with basic stipulations (liturgically appropriate, proper season, no heresy, etc…), but they are not an official song for that part of the Mass. The fact is, there is no official hymn for any part of the Mass at these times - the official parts are Latin antiphons.

 

[OraLabora]

The fact is, there is no official hymn for any part of the Mass at these times - the official parts are Latin antiphons.

In a manner of speaking this is true however I believe that one is only supposed to use, at Mass, music approved by your local conference of bishops.

Which isn’t really helpful because at Mass, the ones approved by the Canadian conference can be pretty abysmal at least in French.

For the Office, I don’t believe the Conference has approved any vernacular hymns. I use Liber Hymnarius in Latin only, and occasionally for Compline or the Minor Hours, I’ll use the French hymn which is more or less a translation of the Latin, and has the same meter so they can be sung on the simple melodies from LH. That is, if I’m chanting that Office in French. If I’m just reciting silently I’ll use whatever’s suggested for the hour in the LOTH.

There is a French hymnal for the LOTH however, put out by the French equivalent of the ICEL. I’ve only used it rarely, and not recently.

 

[porthos11]

The hymns in the CP and LOTH are substitute hymns anyway, so I don’t see a problem with using any other “unofficial” hymn. The official hymns are in Latin and can be found in the Liber Hymnarius.

It’s the same with the Mass. There is a Latin Introit, Gradual, Offertory Antiphon, and Communion Antiphon that are the official parts of the Mass for that particular Sunday of the year. Instead, at a typical English Mass you have an Entrance Song, a Responsorial Psalm, an Offertory Song, and a Communion Song. These are chosen at the liberty of the Music Director with basic stipulations (liturgically appropriate, proper season, no heresy, etc…), but they are not an official song for that part of the Mass. The fact is, there is no official hymn for any part of the Mass at these times - the official parts are Latin antiphons.

Yes, they’re substitute but they follow two conditions: (1) this is allowed by the General Instruction for vernacular celebrations, and (2) their inclusion is approved by the Conference of Bishops. That’s why I’m leery of using other sources, beautiful as they may be. For example, the Office hymns in the Anglican Hymn Book are beautiful, poetic, and many are translations of the Latin hymns. But I can’t bring myself to use them for the Office because of the lack of approval.

 

[porthos11]

In a manner of speaking this is true however I believe that one is only supposed to use, at Mass, music approved by your local conference of bishops.

Which isn’t really helpful because at Mass, the ones approved by the Canadian conference can be pretty abysmal at least in French.

For the Office, I don’t believe the Conference has approved any vernacular hymns. I use Liber Hymnarius in Latin only, and occasionally for Compline or the Minor Hours, I’ll use the French hymn which is more or less a translation of the Latin, and has the same meter so they can be sung on the simple melodies from LH. That is, if I’m chanting that Office in French. If I’m just reciting silently I’ll use whatever’s suggested for the hour in the LOTH.

There is a French hymnal for the LOTH however, put out by the French equivalent of the ICEL. I’ve only used it rarely, and not recently.

My understanding is that the CCCB approved the U.S. edition in full for the English Office, including the hymns in the Breviary, but none outside of that.

 

[OraLabora]

My understanding is that the CCCB approved the U.S. edition in full for the English Office, including the hymns in the Breviary, but none outside of that.

Could be as I’m not familiar with the English LOTH; for French I use the sources in the LOTH or the Monastic LOTH, but I rarely use French hymns except for a few octosyllabic ones that can be sung to Gregorian melodies (the minor hours and Compline hymns in particular).

For the most part I chant them from Liber Hymnarius. Also helps keep me in voice for our schola!

For that matter I use Les Heures Grégoriennes and do at least Lauds and Vespers in Gregorian chant, and when working from home, mid-day prayer as well as Terce and None.

 

[Windmill]

OraLabora,

Incidentally, I finally found a used Liturgia Horarum (Editio Typica Altera) on eBay and am using it with my Liber Hymnarius, too. Being on the OF calendar of Mass, I find that it’s just best to try and celebrate the hours in the OF as best fits my temperament (rather than use EF breviaries and deal with the disharmony of different calendars). It has helped me stay “in form” with my schola, too. We’re starting back up this September and a local parish is having us sing every month now.

 

[OraLabora]

OraLabora,

Incidentally, I finally found a used Liturgia Horarum (Editio Typica Altera) on eBay and am using it with my Liber Hymnarius, too. Being on the OF calendar of Mass, I find that it’s just best to try and celebrate the hours in the OF as best fits my temperament (rather than use EF breviaries and deal with the disharmony of different calendars). It has helped me stay “in form” with my schola, too. We’re starting back up this September and a local parish is having us sing every month now.

I finally cried “uncle” too after some experimentation with monastic breviaries. Too long for my schedule. I do like to chant the psalmody as well using a beautiful diurnal antiphonary from France (Les Heures Grégoriennes, in Latin with the French liturgical translations side by side). Chant in Latin, pause, read silently in French, then continue to the next psalm. Makes for a very “legato” Office that is relaxed and has time to reflect on the psalmody. I typically do Lauds and Vespers that way; minor hours too when I’m working from home (2x per week). Compline on Sundays (otherwise read or chanted in French on other days).

Little known is that many of the hymn texts in LH have been restored, after Vatican II, to their traditional version after being pretty badly mangled by pope Urban VIII in the early 1600s.

 

[porthos11]

OraLabora,

Incidentally, I finally found a used Liturgia Horarum (Editio Typica Altera) on eBay and am using it with my Liber Hymnarius, too. Being on the OF calendar of Mass, I find that it’s just best to try and celebrate the hours in the OF as best fits my temperament (rather than use EF breviaries and deal with the disharmony of different calendars). It has helped me stay “in form” with my schola, too. We’re starting back up this September and a local parish is having us sing every month now.

I do experience this disconnect but I’ve decided to just swallow it. I recite the OF Liturgy of the Hours and attend the EF or Anglican Use Mass. I just think of it as experiencing the fullness of the Roman Rite (i.e. all uses). I cannot really say the EF Breviary with full effectiveness because I don’t have a full Latin vocabulary, so I can’t benefit from Matins, while the full richness of the Office of Readings comes through in the vernacular for me. For this I am truly grateful to the Church. However, I can easily pray the common parts in Latin and with little effort, learn the hymns too, hence, my decision to buy the Liber Hymnarius.

Time is also my enemy, so the simplified order of the Liturgy of the Hours is perfect.

The other reason I can’t really take to the EF Breviary is because it still uses the Urban VIII hymns, while the Liber Hymnarius has the hymni antiquior.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

The current Liturgy of the Hours in the United States has a number of hymns which have not only fallen out of popular use, but some have musical scores no longer in print. Such is the danger with enshrining in a permanent document music based on passing musical fads. Any suitable, relevant, and theologically-sound hymn may be used for the Divine Office.

 

[Stitch]

I sometimes have that problem, but what I tend to do is use this website for hymns for the LOTH to help me learn the tune, and then get my wife to sing the hymn as she’s an execellent singer.

romanrite.com/hymns.html

 

[Windmill]

I finally cried “uncle” too after some experimentation with monastic breviaries. Too long for my schedule. I do like to chant the psalmody as well using a beautiful diurnal antiphonary from France (Les Heures Grégoriennes, in Latin with the French liturgical translations side by side). Chant in Latin, pause, read silently in French, then continue to the next psalm. Makes for a very “legato” Office that is relaxed and has time to reflect on the psalmody. I typically do Lauds and Vespers that way; minor hours too when I’m working from home (2x per week). Compline on Sundays (otherwise read or chanted in French on other days).

Little known is that many of the hymn texts in LH have been restored, after Vatican II, to their traditional version after being pretty badly mangled by pope Urban VIII in the early 1600s.

I think “crying uncle” describes my experience as well. When I start searching for what makes ME happy, I lose the community aspect of it all. It is nice to pray the same prayers that go along with Mass, and even what you know your priest is praying. I even have an English ICEL LotH in case I feel the need to read bad translations along with the parish at Vespers. Our Schola is singing every first Sunday at the parish and teaching the people Latin Ordinaries. I hope to teach a class on the LotH and get people praying. Then , maybe, the Schola can do a few Sunday Vespers if people respond well to the Masses we assist at.

Baby steps.