The following resources are helpful when searching out definitions for a liturgical term, whether or not it is directly connected with music, or trying to find out background information on a part of the liturgy. A Small Liturgical Dictionary by Giacomo Lercaro, ed. A scholarly historical book. The New Harvard Dictionary of Music , ed. Many liturgical terms which relate to music are defined here.
Emphasis is more on the musical aspects than some of the above-mentioned resources.
The Forms and Orders of Western Liturgy has an excellent appendix with commonly used choral texts in Latin and English, including the texts of the Mass and of many well-known canticles such as the Te Deum , Benedictus , Magnificat , Nunc Dimittis , and Salve Regina . The New Harvard Dictionary also gives English translations for any texts which it defines, although this is often limited to the first phrase of the text. Sources for hymn information, texts and tunes Indexes to hymn texts and tunes often provide information about the authors and composers of hymns as well. Some indexes also make an effort to identify tunes musically by trying to represent the melody through the use of some kind of code. All of these are helpful resources for their particular denomination and should probably be consulted first.