Cantor Plus Organist

Jeff Ostrowski · July 14, 2020

PDF Download • “Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Mass”

The fourth installment—“Mass settings that work well, even with a single cantor + organist.”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 24, 2020

PDF Download • “Saint Edmund Jennings Mass”

Today comes the third setting. A total of five Masses will be released.

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Jeff Ostrowski · June 17, 2020

PDF Download • “Saint Anne Line Mass”

I will release five (5) Mass settings which come off well with a single cantor & organist; today is the 2nd installment.

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Jeff Ostrowski · June 11, 2020

PDF Download • “Saint Ralph Sherwin Mass”

Over the next few weeks, I will release five (5) different Mass settings which can be sung with a single cantor & organist.

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“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

PDF • SABT Enhancement (“Our Father”)

If you direct music in the ORDINARY FORM, you’ll want to download this free PDF as fast as humanly possible. While in Europe last summer, Veronica discovered this breathtaking “polyphonic enhancement” for the Lord’s Prayer. The congregation sings their part as normal, while the choir “weaves” SATB harmonies around them. My choir is definitely going to use this!

—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