Views from the Choir Loft

Brébeuf Harmony Edition • “Splendid Beyond Words”

Jeff Ostrowski · April 9, 2019

UR DIVINE MASTER, Jesus Christ, said: “A woman in labor hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but the child being born, she remembers no more the anguish…” Nobody has been more eager for the Brébeuf Harmony Edition to appear than me; and I’ve been waiting five long years. But I was told today it is supposed to be available for purchase very soon—that is to say, within a few days.

Folks, I have seen a copy: IT. IS. FABULOUS.

I sat down at the organ and could not stop playing through it. I just couldn’t stop! I played through each hymn, singing all the verses to myself. The harmonizations are phenomenal. Since 2013, I’ve looked at probably 20,000 pages of hymn harmonizations—but I’ve never seen anything like the Brébeuf harmonies. They are simple, yet elegant. More importantly, they are within the range of singers! To be honest, there were some tunes I wasn’t 100% convinced of before; but when I hear them with the Brébeuf harmonies, I am blown away…and now I would die for these melodies. Yes, folks, they are that epic.

AS SOMEONE WHO CONTRIBUTED SEVERAL ORIGINAL HARMONIES TO THIS BOOK, I WILL BE NOTIFIED THE INSTANT IT BECOMES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW IMMEDIATELY.

Here is a sample:

* * PDF Download • Unauthorized Preview

There is a harmony for every single hymn! …and the Brébeuf Hymnal is 932 pages!

The harmony edition doesn’t make any sense without the Pew Hymnal. It is complementary. However, you will be hearing a lot more about this—and you will love it. It was designed to work with parishes; it is “practical” to a fault. More later.

84999-Brebeuf-Accompaniment-C

84999-Brebeuf-Accompaniment-B

84999-Brebeuf-Accompaniment-A

I’m told they still need a few proofreaders to look over 1-2 sections one final time. If you’re interested, send an email to: liturgical.institute@gmail.com.

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” • Immaculate Conception

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Immaculate Conception (9 December 2024). It’s in the third mode—which some consider the most beautiful of all—and mimics the authentic version in a laudable 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

How Sharp Are Your Eyes?

Just around the corner is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The GREGORIAN MISSAL (Solesmes Abbey, 1990) is an utterly gorgeous book—there’s no question about that. But several typos did creep in. Can you spot the major typo for the ENTRANCE CHANT on the feast of the Immaculate Conception? How sharp are your eyes? If you succeed, send me an email letting me know.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • (Christ the King Sunday)

This coming Sunday—24 November 2024—is Christ the King Sunday (a.k.a. “Final Sunday in Ordinary Time”). Some have expressed interest in perusing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. You’ll notice we’re learning Moreau’s “Congregational Polyphonic Enhancement” for the OUR FATHER. And the the Mode 3 ENTRANCE CHANT is utterly sublime.

—Jeff Ostrowski

The Breviary in the Life of the Laity

Recently I have been enjoying looking through the inaugural (1927) edition of a 20th-century liturgical magazine called Orate Fratres. The July 1927 issue included an excellent article by a Chicago laywoman named Ellen Gates Starr entitled “The Delights of the Breviary: From the Point of View of a Lay Woman.” As we in the 21st century have recently undergone a (blessed!) re-translation of the missal into English, and as we await with joyful hope (please God, before Jesus comes back!) a similar re-translation of the breviary, the opening of her article reminded me of that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Nearly a hundred years ago, she penned words that could just as easily have been written today: “It is indeed a privilege to be allowed any participation, however slight, in the liturgical movement in the Church – the movement to bring back the classics of devotion, the Missal and the Breviary, into general use by the laity. The wonder is that they should ever have fallen into disuse. Nothing can take the place of these great universal prayers of the Church, the prayers of the Mass and the divine Office. One has only to know them to find them indispensable. And alas, how few of the laity know them!” I know that I have been tremendously nourished by regular praying of the breviary as of late, and my wish is that you and I, dear reader, may continue to nourish our interior lives with the official prayer of the Church, which present to us (in the Mass) and extend (in the Office) the fullness of Christ’s greatest gift to us – the gift of Himself – in the Most Holy Eucharist.

—Daniel Tucker

Principles vs Preferences

I ran into this idea recently: principles vs. preferences in planning out a curriculum or music lineup. In this idea, it is imperative to not misconstrue personal preferences into principles—that the music (or subject matter) is great because: “I have good taste, and I like it.” De gustibus… Education, study and docility to the Magisterium of the Church on matters of liturgical music must be present in those who make the music at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Hours. Who knows? Maybe you might start to prefer the music that is fitting according to the principles Catholic Sacred Music?

—William J. Fritz

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