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Corpus Christi Watershed

“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

“Sanctus” Recorded By Young Ladies From Las Vegas • Fabulous!

Jeff Ostrowski · November 1, 2016

E’RE CURRENTLY IN THE MIDST of planning next year’s Sacred Music Symposium. During last year’s event, I had the pleasure of meeting members from a wonderful Schola Cantorum in Las Vegas. These young ladies were bright, energetic, and had the most pure voices! They really took to heart what Dr. Calabrese and Dr. Buchholz taught them.

Several members agreed to help record a Palestrina SANCTUS (PDF), and I think you’ll agree the results are magnificent:

REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice have been created: locate #6962.


You owe it to yourself run through the Tenor rehearsal video. Could anything be more fun, especially in the Hosanna?

THIS SANCTUS IS FROM the same Mass as this Kyrie, so I won’t repeat what I wrote about the hymn tune. I would mention, however, that Palestrina adds a free countersubject to the Sanctus (marked in green). In the Benedictus—which we’ll upload soon—he adds two more! I eliminated the trio Palestrina wrote for “pleni sunt coeli” because that would have made the piece too long for our FSSP.la Masses—causing a delay for the priest. 1

When composers like Palestrina based Masses on a tune, it’s remarkable to see how they change their treatment in each movement. It could be as simple as adding a new countersubject. Or, it might be something “structural” like never beginning more than one movement with the same voice. In the KYRIE, the Soprano entered last, whereas in the SANCTUS it enters second.

I feel there’s something amazing about polyphony—something which grabs the ear of “homo modernus” instantly. Plainsong is powerful in a different way; perhaps a deeper way. For example, no one who sang the full version of the Offertory on 1 November, as we did, could fail to be moved. Consider the significance of the word “autem,” and the marvelous attention the unknown Gregorian composer draws to this crucial word.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Did celebrants pray slower in Palestrina’s day? Or did they sing faster? This is not easy to answer with certainty.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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

    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

“If I could only make the faithful sing the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei…that would be to me the finest triumph sacred music could have, for it is in really taking part in the liturgy that the faithful will preserve their devotion. I would take the Tantum Ergo, the Te Deum, and the Litanies sung by the people over any piece of polyphony.”

— ‘Giuseppe Cardinal Sarto, Letter to Msgr. Callegari (1897)’

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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