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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

How to do Marian Hymns

Veronica Brandt · October 24, 2015

N AUSTRALIA, anyone interested in sacred music is likely to cross paths with Ronan Reilly. He is something of a local legend. He’s the one on the left conducting. He appears seemingly at random around the country bringing amazing music to the most unlikely places.

Next to him is John Brazier, organist at Maternal Heart and co-conspirator in facilitating excellent music. He comes from a family of homeschooled over-achievers and manages to study Law in his spare time.

The other two are awesome too, but I haven’t met them.

And that is just the male quartet. Replace John with Rioghnach Wȩgrecka and you have the Prima Luce Quartet. Add a dozen more fantastic singers and there’s the large ensemble. Together they have just released their third album, this time a collection of Marian Hymns.

Listen to Arcadelt’s Ave Maria sung in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney:



Go, check out their official website: www.primalucemusic.com

The collection includes quite a few new arrangements and compositions. Here is a brief track listing. The CD liner notes give more detail – you can see how young some of the composers are. Track 17 is Virgo Dei Genetrix, starting with the chant as you’ll find in the Liber usualis, followed by a beautiful polyphonic setting composed by 19 year old Thomas McKendry.

Track 14 kinda stands out as it is a Little Hymn to St Joseph – hey! I thought this was a CD for Mary! but look – the composer is John Brazier and the lyrics written by his sister, a Carmelite at Elysberg, PA. How beautiful is that?

But it was Tracks 11 and 12 which won over our family’s biggest critic with the lively arrangements of Stella Splendens and Help of Christians. I was playing the CD in the car and he complained he asked for the volume to be turned up so he could hear it – we have separate speakers in the back.

Stephen Smith’s Hail Queen of Heaven makes a stunning change from the usual tune. Stephen Smith gave a workshop on Gregorian Chant way back before I had started attending a Latin Mass – I remember he patiently taught a bunch of us Attende Domine at a Carmelite Convent, then gathered in the chapel there to sing it for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

And that might just be what sets this group apart. They sing for the love of God. They are squarely aimed at giving glory to God. They are there on all the crazy pilgrimages (right now they’re between Ballarat and Bendigo). If you hear of a bunch of people singing in Latin in a McDonalds or a train station in Sydney, then you can bet it’s them.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Catholic Youth Choirs Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

St Ambrose had to be “corrected” by Pope Urban VIII. The ‘Iste confessor’ was greatly altered and the hymn for the Dedication of a Church—which no one ought to have touched—was in fact completely recast in a new meter. Singular demand, made by the taste of that particular epoch!

— Re: The hymn revisions of Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644)

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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