Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Seasonal Index” for the Brébeuf Hymnal

Veronica Moreno · October 26, 2024

Y DAUGHTER really enjoys playing the simplified accompaniments which were created for the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL and we hope more will be forthcoming. (Ahem … hint hint.) The feast of All Saints is approaching on November 1st, and for this feast I consulted a ‘seasonal’ index I created a number of years ago for the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL, the creation of which so many of my colleagues contributed to. I was pleased to observe that my ‘unofficial’ seasonal index has been downloaded more than 4,000 times. The link can be found on the Brébeuf website, but here it is again for readers who don’t feel like heading over there:

* PDF Download • SEASONAL INDEX (for personal use)

Rookie Mistake • One has to be careful when it comes to a particular hymn for the feast of All Saints on November 1st. That’s because its ancient form shares the exact same name as an ancient Christmas hymn: CHRISTE REDEMPTOR OMNIUM. They are actually two completely different hymns, composed several centuries apart. Here’s what the Christmas version looks like:

Happy Memories • Along with several of my friends (Corrinne May, Iffy Edochie, and so many more) I was privileged to sing polyphony under the direction of Mr. Ostrowski when he lived in Los Angeles. One of the first polyphonic pieces we ever learned was called “Te Mane Laudum Carmine.” It was based on a piece by Father Francisco Guerrero, and I suspect its adaptation was done by Mr. Ostrowski. The polyphony is based on the ‘normal’ melody for the Christmas version, but this same chant tune was often used by our ancestors for the All Saints version as well. It can be found as #3473 under the title of: “Hymn to the Sacred Trinity.” I look back with fond memories upon those polyphonic days.

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

About Veronica Moreno

Veronica Moreno is married to a teacher and homeschools five children. She has been cantor at her local Catholic parish for over a decade.—(Read full biography).

“Entrance Chant” • Christ the King

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Solemnity of Christ the King (24 November 2024). It mimics the Mode III Latin version in a truly spectacular 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

“Music List” • (33rd Sund. Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday—17 November 2024—is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. 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. For the record, our opening hymn is particularly beautiful. So is the Mode 6 ENTRANCE CHANT.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Lectionary Errors

If you look at the official Responsorial Psalm (PDF) for this coming Sunday, you’ll notice the current Lectionary has the wrong refrain. Why is this a big deal? Why even mention such a thing? Everybody makes mistakes, right? Here’s why it matters. The USCCB—which makes money by selling the sacred liturgical texts—has historically been ruthless when it comes to such matters. When various publishers point out errors to them, their response has been: “If you dare to correct the error, we’ll sue you.” These errors are not a matter of nuance; e.g. sometimes the previous (English) edition of the Lectionary got them right! Bottom Line: mandatory, indulgenced, liturgical texts shouldn’t be sold; they should be freely available to all Catholics.

—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