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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Pius X Hymnal by Dr. Theodore Marier

Jeff Ostrowski · March 29, 2013

R. THEODORE MARIER is a man I highly revere. I first heard his name mentioned by my friend David Hughes more than a decade ago. I recently paid a lot of money to obtain one of his first major productions, long out of print, called The Pius X Hymnal (McLaughlin & Reilly Co., Boston, Mass., 1953). But I am sorry to admit it was a huge disappointment.

UPDATE:   The choir, organist & congregational versions can now be freely download here.

Readers will probably recall that I have often written about an inexcusable flaw of many early Catholic hymnals: viz. their failure to list the TUNE NAME. Since I have written about this so many times, in long articles that painstakingly explain all the reasons this defect is unpardonable, I will not “shoot my mouth off” here. Suffice it to say, Ted Marier does not list the TUNE NAMES in The Pius X Hymnal. So, for instance, when Dr. Marier uses the hymn tune STUTTGART, he neglects to list the name of the melody. Nor does he do so in the indices. Not good, my friends.

I am also unhappy with other things. The ranges seem to me, on occasion, to be placed way too high. The entire book seems to be a hodgepodge of polyphony, simple chants, complex chants, and congregational tunes. As Bill Watterson said in his Calvin and Hobbes Cartoon: “A good compromise leaves everybody unhappy.” In other words, seeking to please everybody, the results end up pleasing nobody. As an editor, I can attest that it’s quite easy to create a book with lots of stuff inside. However, creating a book containing only those things useful for a particular group (choir, organist, congregation, etc.) is a much harder task.

One last point (and this was also pointed out by many people who reviewed this book in the 1950s): so few congregational hymns were included in this book . . . and many of those included lack inspiration.

In conclusion, although I have tremendous respect for Dr. Theodore Marier, I expected a lot more from this book based on its “reputation.” I hope my honest observations do not offend anyone, but I’ve learned that pretty much everything I write will offend somebody so I guess I should get used to it.

      * *  Click here to learn more about the Campion Hymnal

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    William Byrd • Simple “Agnus Dei” Canon
    Time flies! Back in July, I posted a PDF setting of a perfect canon by William Byrd (d. 1623) arranged as an AGNUS DEI for three voices. Last Sunday, we sang that arrangement with our volunteer choir. To hear a ‘live’ recording of it, click here (Mp3). In my humble opinion, this would be a perfect piece for a choir just beginning to experiment with polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I love them that love me: and they that in the morning early watch for me shall find me.”

— Proverbs 8

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