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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

Easter Hymn: “O Filii et Filiæ” • Contemporary setting (SATB)

Jeff Ostrowski · March 21, 2017

IKE OTHER musicians—even Horowitz—I often view my earlier projects with disgust. The passage of time can reveal flaws in earlier works. But “for every rule there is an exception,” and I recently stumbled upon a 2001 edition I made of an Easter hymn (based on a work by Msgr. Jules Van Nuffel).

I think it holds up pretty well:

* *  PDF Download • “O FILII ET FILIAE” (SATB)

Pardon my squeaky Soprano notes, but I wanted to show how it sounds:

REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice—along with PDF score—await you at #5909. If you like them, please consider donating $5.00 per month.

Sing along with the Tenor Rehearsal video—could anything be more fun?

MY EDITION is similar to the version found in the special “English translation edition” of the Solesmes Liber Usualis, which can be downloaded here. If you examine the setting of words like “Salóme” as printed in that 1957 book, you might almost be forgiven for thinking the accent is on the antepenult. On the other hand, similar techniques were used by Machaut and Dufay—and it certainly helps prevent the tonic accent from becoming heavy and predictable.

O fílii et fíliae,
Rex caeléstis, Rex glóriae,
Mórte surréxit hódie.

O sons and daughters,
The King celestial, the King of glory,
From death arose to-day.

Et María Magdaléne,
Et Jacóbi, et Salóme,
Venérunt córpus úngere.

And Mary Magdalene, Salome,
And also Mary of James
Came to anoint the body.

In álbis sédens, ángelus
Praedíxit muliéribus:
In Galilaéa est Dóminus.

In white robes sitting the Angel
Foretold to the women:
In Galilee is the Lord.

Discípulis adstántibus,
In médio stétit Chrístus,
Dícens: Pax vóbis ómnibus.

The disciples standing by,
In the midst stood Christ,
Saying: Peace be to you all.

Víde, Thóma, víde látus,
Víde pédes, víde mánus,
Nóli ésse incrédulus.

See, Thomas, see my side,
See my feet, see my hands,
Do not be unbelieving.

Quándo Thómas Chrísti látus,
Pédes vídit átque mánus,
Díxit: Tu es Déus méus.

When Thomas saw Christ’s side,
When the feet he saw and the hands,
He said: Thou art my God.

Beáti qui non vidérunt,
Et fírmiter credidérunt,
Vítam aetérnam habébunt.

Blessèd they who have not seen,
Yet have firmly believed,
Life eternal shall they have.

In hoc fésto sanctíssimo
Sit laus et jubilátio,
Benedicámus Dómino.

On this feast most holy
Be there praise and jubilation,
Let us bless the Lord.

Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel’s school certainly loved pedal tones in middle voices—as you know if you purchased Volume 5 of the NOH hardcopy, which explains their compositional principles—and the Alto is chock-full of them in the above arrangement.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Harmonized Gregorian Chant, O Filii Et Filiae Last Updated: March 7, 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

    “Samaritánæ” (3rd Sunday of Lent)
    With regard to the COMMUNION for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year A), the Ordo Cantus Missae—which was published in 1969 by the Vatican, bearing Hannibal Bugnini’s signature and approbation in its PREFACE—inexplicably introduced a variant melody and slightly different words, as you can see by this comparison chart. When it comes to such items, they’re always done in secrecy by unnamed people. (Although it is known that Dom Eugène Cardine collaborated in the creation of the GRADUALE SIMPLEX, a book considered by some to be a travesty.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)
    I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Cantus Mariales” (192 pages)
    Andrea Leal has posted an absolutely pristine scan of CANTUS MARIALES (192 pages) which can be downloaded as a PDF file. To access this treasure, navigate to the frabjous article Andrea posted Monday. The file is being offered completely free of charge. The beginning pages of the book have something not to be missed: viz. a letter from Pope Saint Pius X to Dom Pothier, in which the pope calls Abbat Pothier “a man versed above all others in the science of liturgy, and to whom the cause of Gregorian chant is greatly indebted.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Grotesque Pairing • “Passion Chorale”
    One of our rarest releases was undoubtably this PDF scan of the complete Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) by Father Joseph Roff, a student of Healey Willan. One of the scarcest titles in existence, this book was provided to us by Mr. Peter Meggison. Back in 2018, we scanned each page and uploaded it to our website, making it freely available to everyone. Readers are probably sick of hearing me say this, but just because we upload something that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wonderful or worthy of imitation. We upload many publications precisely because they are ‘grotesque’, interesting, or revealing. Whereas the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal had an editorial board that was careful and sensitive vis-à-vis pairing texts with tunes, the Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) seems to have been rather reckless in this regard. Please take a look at what they did with the PASSION CHORALE and see whether you agree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Extreme Unction
    Those who search Google for “CCCC MS 079” will discover high resolution images of a medieval Pontificale (“Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 079”). One of the pages contains this absolutely gorgeous depiction of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”
    I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Glorious among virgins, high above the stars, thou dost nourish at thy breast as a child him who created thee.” (Fortunatus)

— English translation by Dr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

Recent Posts

  • “Samaritánæ” (3rd Sunday of Lent)
  • Grotesque Pairing • “Passion Chorale”
  • PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)
  • PDF • “Cantus Mariales” (192 pages)
  • PDF Download • Fourteen (14) Versions of the Splendid Hymn: “Salve Mater Misericordiae”

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