Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”
The Vice-President of the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz (who also serves as Director of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Detroit) sent us an email yesterday regarding the harmonizations (PDF) I composed for the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. Dr. Buchholz says: “Those settings are absolutely exquisite, as I’m used to when […]
Is it fair to forever bind Dom Guéranger to what he wrote about “barbarous archaisms” in 1855?
A young lady named Agnes wrote to us: “Dear Mr. Ostrowski, do you have the PDF score for Ave Corpus Domini set to the ADVENT melody? Last year, we sang the hymn tune “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland” quite a bit using your contrafactum technique. My choir appreciates the Latin hymns and practice videos, especially […]
Yesterday, I recorded a video demonstration of each Gregorian Chant tone.
With a brief digression on certain “nasty” traditionalists.
In the month of November, we remember in a special way the souls in purgatory. The BRÉBEUF HYMNAL often includes text alone versions for its hymns; why is that? The short answer is: flexibility. The “text only” version allows each choirmaster to employ a myriad of melodies. For example, I recently set the English translation […]
Are there sickening examples of hymn pairings? Oh, most certainly!
The special Vigil of Christmas “Alleluia” sung according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church.
I’ve been attempting to record some Brébeuf hymns on the pipe organ, but I know very little about registration (“stops”). You can listen to this morning’s attempt, a recording of a tune called TRINITY COLLEGE. Do you know this tune? It’s quite nice. Feel free to email me vis-à-vis the registration I chose. To quickly […]
This video shows a signatory of the famous “Agatha Christie Indult” talking about Glenn Gould (specifically his Bach interpretations).
For decades, I was against choral warm-ups. I felt they should be derived from repertoire—killing two birds with one stone—but was often too lazy to prepare such items. Over the years, I have taken a 180° turn. Now I’m a huge believer in vocal “warm-ups.” Our volunteer choir has been enjoying this wonderful warm-up exercise […]
Including several hymns eminently suitable for the feast of Christ the King.
This afternoon, it was suggested to me that I write down (“notate”) the arrangement I use.
A wonderful text for the feast of Christ the King is: “Conquering Kings Their Titles Take.” We’re currently working on creating a professional recording. Until that’s complete, we’ve posted these preliminary versions. You might want to consider this hymn for the upcoming solemnity of Christ’s Kingship.
In my humble opinion, Dom Gregory Murray (d. 1992) was a splendid composer. Here’s my attempt to perform one of his INTERLUDES on the pipe organ. I’m not a “concert organist” so I deeply appreciate any feedback—especially about registration. By the way, you can download a fantastic collection of ORGAN INTERLUDES—all 104 pages completely free […]
