EF Antiphonale Romanum in English
  • Adoremus
    Posts: 39
    Hello. I’m wondering whether an English adaptation of the Antiphonale Romanum was ever produced for use with the Divine Office in the Extraordinary Form. Specifically, I’m curious if any such adaptation emerged in the period following the Second Vatican Council but prior to the promulgation of the Liturgy of the Hours.

    I’m aware of an English Vesperal adapted from the monastic Antiphonale by a Benedictine community in the 1960s—a PDF of which is available on the Internet Archive. I’m also familiar with various English antiphonaries of Anglican origin.

    However, my question concerns the Roman Antiphonale in particular. Was there ever an English version made, possibly by a religious community during that transitional period? Thank you!
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,798
    Well, there were plenty of disobedient people, as we know, but it seems to not have been a priority. Paul VI reiterated three times that the choir offices of religious were to retain Latin. Sacrificium Laudis. I have no idea what canons did, but hardly any Anglophone chapters of the few that exist actually pray the office, and the one that did retained (mostly) Latin.

    As an aside, while technically one does not pray in choir without an obligation such as the one of canons or religious with a choir obligation, before, parochial and other common offices were assimilated to those in choir: you just didn’t have to do every last thing (e.g. at Vespers, you could end Vespers with Fidelium and then have benediction, a sermon, or other pious exercises in a parish church, per the SRC). I regret that Paul VI permits such in the care of religious to become more like the private office, i.e. in the vernacular, which is of course the default. But what’s worse is hearing that places merely recite the office, whereas before, words that you could otherwise legitimately translate into English as recite or say (and their equivalents in other languages) are in contrast, or sometimes synonyms for want of variety, to sing, i.e. with chant melodies from the antiphonal or occasionally another book (for Matins or another collection like for Holy Week, Corpus Christi etc.). The office is not meant to be read out loud. It should be recto tono if not sung in Gregorian chant.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw