[maryz]

I never heard the Epistle in the vernacular in the Tridentine rite -- just the Gospel from the pulpit, before the homily (or "sermon" as it used to be; the Gospel had already been read in Latin. (And even the Gospel wasn't read in English at daily Masses, which had no sermon/homily or other break.)

We always had mostly English hymns, too (and not many good ones) at low Mass. High Mass, of course, was all Latin (though I never had the chance to hear many, except for frequent Requiems).

[ninenot]

My guess is that the Epistle reading was a local option. As to the English hymns at Low Masses--maybe. Here, at Low Masses, there was no organist. No organ, no singee.