While this blogger can't sing a lick, Mrs. Adfero has for a while wanted a great, traditional hymnal, and finally found one. But to simply call the second edition of The Traditional Roman Hymnal by our friends at Angelus Press a 'hymnal' doesn't do it justice.
We noticed three things very quickly. First, as always with the products published by Angelus Press, you notice the quality -- and the durability, which is critical for our family, as this will be handled by the little ones while home schooling. Check out the rugged binding:
The second thing we noticed is that there's barely any "white space" in the book -- that blank space where a page isn't filled. Instead, the publisher drops in a number of edifying pieces of art to fill the space, as you'll see below:
And the third thing we noticed is that it's not just a book of hymns! There's so much more to this hymnal. We began to chronicle all of these things, then realized Angelus Press most likely had the highlights already, well, highlighted. As you can see below, from their description, they left little out of this hymnal, adding 50% more than was in the first edition:
- * Ordinary Chants of the Mass, Asperges, Vidi Aquam, tones for the Mass responses, etc.
- * Kyriale (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) in Gregorian notation for ten Masses. Five Credos
- * Hymns and chants for every liturgical season, Feast day, and general use, e.g., Sacred Heart, Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Souls, etc.
- * Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
- * Confirmation Service
- * Marriage Service and Nuptial Mass
- * Requiem Mass and Burial Service
- * Litany of the Saints, Rogation days Procession, Forty Hours Devotion.
- * The second edition contains several indices to make this one of the easiest hymnals to use. We’ve included an index for Titles, Authors, Translators, and Composers, and even included a compatibility index to the first edition hymnal.
This is a hymnal we will take full advantage of, throughout the liturgical year, with our children. And the quality gives us confidence that it will be with us for many years to come.
To purchase this hymnal for what we believe is an incredibly reasonable price of $34.95, click here to go to Angelus Press.
