English Proper Chants

Among the prayers of the Mass that vary from day to day (the propers), the Roman Missal includes an Entrance Antiphon and Communion Antiphon. English Proper Chants is a collection of beautiful, simple chant settings for these antiphons, with English texts, for all of the Sundays and Solemnities of the liturgical year.

The project's composer John Ainslie, an internationally respected liturgist and musician, believes that chant is a musical idiom that continues to have an important (but not exclusive) role in the Catholic liturgy. English Proper Chants reflects his conviction that the use of chant in English requires sensitive handling in order to respect and reflect the particular rhythms of the language.

Both melody (5-line modern notation) and accompaniment editions are available. The accompaniment edition is printed in a convenient, coil-bound format that allows it to lie flat on music stands, while the melody edition is perfect bound (paperback). Indices of antiphons and of psalms are included in each. Pagination is identical in both editions for easy combined use. Purchase includes permission to reprint antiphon texts and music from melody edition on one-time copies (e.g., newsletters) for congregational use. It includes access to reproducible PDF and TIFF files of the antiphons.

John Ainslie is an English liturgist and musician with over thirty years' experience as a parish music leader. He has been chairman of the Society of Saint Gregory, the British-based association for promoting high standards of liturgical celebration. He has also been General Secretary of Universa Laus, the European study group for liturgical music founded by Fr. Joseph Gelineau.