LEASE ALLOW ME TO CLEAR UP a misconception about the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (forthcoming), which is being produced by an international team of Catholics, including priests and laymen. It is certainly true that the JP2 Institute has commissioned new tunes and new texts for this book—and they’re magnificent. However, the majority of the book consists of traditional tunes and texts. An example would be the following German melody, which is featured prominently.
The Brébeuf hymnal contains several fabulous English translations of this hymn—but I would like to demonstrate that it can also be sung in Latin:
REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice and PDF score await you at #89325.
Many readers won’t click on that link (#89325)—thereby depriving themselves of the PDF score: all eight pages! This breaks my heart.
Other readers will avoid clicking that link (#89325)—and consequently miss the opportunity to sing along with the individual voice parts, which are extremely fun. This makes me sad.
HE SAINT Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal discriminated based on the excellence of hymn melodies and hymn texts. To be honest, we were not totally sure a book could be produced with the high standards we adopted, but it turns out it can! The biggest obstacle we currently face is whether to include the Spanish hymns we’ve prepared, because we don’t want the book to be too heavy. After all, there is something pleasant about holding a book that’s just the right size. By the way, here is a recording of this hymn by the Vatican (using the plainsong melody). I consider the organ accompaniment very nice.
In a few weeks, final proofreading will commence. Those interested in proofreading the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal should email the committee. My understanding is they’re searching for proofreaders. Make sure the word “proofreader” is in your email’s subject line.
