Simple English Propers (Divine Mercy Sunday)

Corpus Christi Watershed · April 1, 2013

HAT WOULD THE Simple English Propers sound like harmonized as if they were Chabanel Psalms? In other words, done according to the “Flor Peeters” method of chant accompaniment? Readers will recall that Flor Peeters and his associates at the Lemmens Institute in Belgium (Msgr. Jules Van Nuffel, Msgr. Jules Vyverman, Marinus de Jong, Gustaaf Nees, Henri Durieux, and Edgard de Laet) were the world’s leaders in creating beautiful, modal, Gregorian accompaniments.

* * Organ Accompaniment Score by Jeff Ostrowski [pdf]

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

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

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