Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Booklet • Christmas Midnight Mass (36 pages)

Jeff Ostrowski · December 22, 2018

E CAN PRETEND we don’t care about what other choirs are doing—but it’s a lie. Let’s be honest: We music directors love seeing what other groups are singing, and from which scores. I am often surprised nobody talks more about Westminster Cathedral Choir lists, which are available online. (That’s a Catholic group; the Anglican group is Westminster Abbey.) Their programs seemingly encompass every piece of choral music ever written…

Anyhow, feel free to download our Midnight Mass booklet:

* * PDF Download • Midnight Mass Booklet (36 pages)

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Helpful Hint: Sometimes Adobe Acrobat (full version) has problems printing the lyrics in music. If that happens, open the file—and print it—using Apple “Preview.”

It looks so simple when placed in a booklet like that…but it has taken us a while to learn all that music. Rehearsal videos for all the music can be found here—for each individual voice!

I doubt I will blog again before Christmas, so…

… MERRY CHRISTMAS, DEAREST READERS!

85796 May Jesus Christ Be Praised

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

“Entrance Chant” • Sunday (17 Nov. 2024)

Download the Entrance Antiphon in English for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (17 November 2024). It’s in mode 6—which some consider the “mode of peace”—and mimics the authentic version in a splendid and gorgeous way. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Quotation” • Pope Pius X on Plainsong

In a letter to Msgr. Callegari (1897), Giuseppe Cardinal Sarto—later POPE SAINT PIUS X—wrote as follows: “If I could only make the faithful sing the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei … that would be to me the finest triumph sacred music could have, for it is in really taking part in the liturgy that the faithful will preserve their devotion. I would take the Tantum Ergo, the Te Deum, and the Litanies sung by the people over any piece of polyphony.” Giuseppe Sarto, as Bishop of Mantua, personally copied (using a primitive duplicator) the sheet music necessary for the choir members, both in figured music and Gregorian chant.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Genitive Case

When it comes to Lingua Latina, the genitive case is sometimes unclear. Believe it or not, English is no different. For instance, reference to “love of God” could mean two things: (a) God’s love for humanity; (b) our love for God. And there’s another instance where English is confusing. Suppose somebody was trying to catch me. That could be considered “Jeff fishing.” At the same time, if I were in a boat fishing, that’s also “Jeff fishing.” Speaking of language, have you noticed Germans strongly favor compound nouns? Such words in English are perfectly idiomatic: sailboat, sandcastle, barnyard, starfish, scarecrow, and so forth. I’m told the word HANDMISSAL is characteristic of how Germans like to combine words.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Liquescent Notes in the Official Edition

The official edition—the EDITIO VATICANA itself—is somewhat inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes. If you wish to see a perfect “apples-to-apples” comparison, click here. Such “inconsistency” was not owing to ignorance on the part of Abbat Pothier: the manuscripts themselves are inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Final Sundays after Pentecost

For those of us at a traditional Latin Mass, it’s that time of year when the sung propers for each Sunday repeat until the end of the liturgical year. What to do with the portion of your mid-week rehearsal that you normally devote to the next Sunday’s propers? I like to get a head start on propers for upcoming December feasts. We always sing Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 because she’s co-patroness of our diocese, and we sing a Rorate Mass in addition to Immaculate Conception. There’s also the first Sunday of Advent; it often follows Thanksgiving by a few days and we don’t rehearse on Thanksgiving. In short, there’s no reason to get bored at this time of year!

—Keven Smith

Parallel Fifths In Plainsong Accompaniment?

Parallel 5ths are forbidden in Baroque music and Classical music. However, plainsong accompaniment has its own rules and modal style. The great masters sometimes even wrote parallel sevenths! Instances of parallel fifths are too numerous to list in the Nova Organi Harmonia by the LEMMENSINSTITUUT. For example, consider this one. But one must possess a certain expertise to employ them properly. By the way, if you wish to see double parallel fifths, click here.

—Jeff Ostrowski