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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.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Video Demonstration Of Polyphony

Jeff Ostrowski · June 26, 2013

LL MY MASS SETTINGS were composed under certain constraints. It was necessary for them to be (1) relatively simple; (2) able to be sung with or without organ accompaniment; and, (3) within a “congregational” vocal range. Some might quibble with the notion that my Masses are “polyphonic,” since polyphony usually has more rests and slightly more independent vocal lines. A fairly nice definition of “polyphony” says that each voice has its own melody. In any event, I would submit that my Masses are as polyphonic as possible, given the restrictions I’ve already mentioned.

Below, I will provide links to everything required — SATB scores, organ scores, practice videos, and so forth. But first, please listen to these extremely short video demonstrations of polyphony:

      * *  Short Video Demonstration (1)

      * *  Short Video Demonstration (2)

Hopefully those videos provided a “taste” of the richness that is (I hope!) contained in each phrase of my Mass settings. You probably noticed that each phrase is “layered” — so there is always plenty to “listen for” no matter how many times the Mass is sung.

AS I PROMISED, below are the files for the SATB “Glory to God” in honor of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith. If you would like to download all four (4) of my Mass settings for the New Translation of the Roman Missal, please click here.


St. Edmund Arrowsmith “Glory to God” • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition

            Cantor & Organist: (VIDEO)

            SATB choral version: (VIDEO)

            SATB choral score: (PDF).

            Congregational score: Melody-Only (PDF)

            SATB Training Video SOPRANO:  (VIDEO)   •   (Mp3 audio)
            SATB Training Video ALTO:  (VIDEO)   •   (Mp3 audio)
            SATB Training Video TENOR:  (VIDEO)   •   (Mp3 audio)
            SATB Training Video BASS:  (VIDEO)   •   (Mp3 audio)

Finally, as I mentioned above, you can also download complete PDF scores for this entire Mass.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: August 27, 2023

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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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Spectacular Communion Setting!
    The FAUXBOURDON setting of the Communion for the Baptism of the Lord (which will occur this coming Sunday) strikes me as quite spectacular. The verses—composed by the fifth century Christian poet, Coelius Sedulius—come from a long alphabetical acrostic and are deservedly famous. The feast of the LORD’S BAPTISM was traditionally the octave day of Epiphany, but in the 1962 kalendar it was made ‘more explicit’ or emphasized. The 1970 MISSALE ROMANUM elevated this feast even further.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Music List” (Sunday, 11 January)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (SUNDAY, 11 January 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. The FAUXBOURDON verses for the Communion Antiphon—to say nothing of the antiphon itself—are breathtaking. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are available at the monumental feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Epiphany Hymn • “New 2-Voice Arrangement”
    The Von Trapp Family Singers loved a melody that was featured heavily (perhaps even “too heavily”) in the Brébeuf Hymnal. It goes by many names, including ALTONA, VOM HIMMEL HOCH, and ERFURT. If you only have one man and one woman singing, you will want to download this arrangement for two voices. It really is a marvelous tune—and it’s especially fitting during the season of Christmas and Epiphany.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Reminder” — Month of January (2026)
    On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)
    I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “In Paradisum” in English
    We always sing the IN PARADISUM in Latin, as printed on this PDF score. I have an appallingly bad memory (meaning I’d be a horrible witness in court). In any event, it’s been brought to my attention that 15 years ago I created this organ accompaniment for the famous and beautiful ‘IN PARADISUM’ Gregorian chant sung in English according to ‘MR3’ (Roman Missal, Third Edition). If anyone desires such a thing, feel free to download and print. Looking back, I wish I’d brought the TENOR and BASS voices into a unison (on B-Natural) for the word “welcome” on the second line.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“[Saint Jerome’s Latin] fairly frequently represents a purer text than does the existing Hebrew, sometimes yielding a plain sense when the Massoretic text fails to do so, and quite often providing a working interpretation of a passage where the Hebrew is doubtful.”

— Sebastian Bullough, O.P. (June 1949)

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