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Views from the Choir Loft

Sharing sacred music online

Veronica Brandt · May 18, 2013

HIS WEEKEND I HOPE to see the final printed copies of a book for Mass that started taking shape at the beginning of 2011. From a project that was going to take six months to complete, it has been more of an adventure than anticipated, but the end is in sight!

Choosing music is fun. Wading through old hymnbooks is like searching for buried treasure. Sometimes you find things to laugh about, sometimes you find things of great beauty, sometimes you find pieces that could do with a little fixing up.

It doesn’t take long to become a hymn geek, pondering whether to go with a Caswall or a J M Neale translation of such and such, wondering if an odd word is a typo or something that has shifted meaning over time and exclaiming at odd moments about a long meter tune that would be perfect for the anonymous hymn to St Therese of Lisieux you found. That’s the fun part.

The hard work is assembling it all – lots of typing up music, lots of getting the line breaks and page breaks right, lots of checking up on sources, making sure you have the perfect version of harmony and lyrics. And each time I think to myself, I’m going to tidy up all the files and make them available to save someone else a little work.

Three weeks ago, Adam Wood started the CMAA GitHub repository. Earlier this year he published his manifesto on Open Source Sacred Music and began a lively discussion on how Jeffrey Tucker was wrong about Open Source… It is all great stuff to read and think about.

My books could not have happened without much open source software and music. I can’t make them available as they are because of the handful of hymns owned by companies like GIA, OCP and Faber Music. I’m not even sure if they could be useful outside of their extremely small niche. But part of the beauty of them is that they are unique to this area. I have Australian hymns (one of which appears slightly modified in the Campion Missal. The third verse of “Thee, O Christ, the Prince of Ages” reads “From our own dear land, Australia” over here, page 80) like “Hail Redeemer” which is out of copyright here, but requires a licence in the US.

Sharing music in different forms on the internet is not new and there are growing possibilities for those willing and able to learn to use tools like gregorio and lilypond. For sure people will still prefer ready-made books, and that is where the Campion Missal and the Vatican II Hymnbook really shine. Hopefully all this good material can keep spreading.

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 Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

From Chelan, Washington: “CCWatershed is a God-sent resource that I can’t function without! Such great work by the team to bring beauty back to our liturgy!” From Gainesville, Florida: “I am so appreciative of the work, of my brothers and sisters in music!” From Troutman, North Carolina: “Keep up the excellent work in service of the Liturgy!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“We decided to entrust this work to learned men of our selection. They very carefully collated all their work with the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library and with reliable, preserved or emended codices from elsewhere. Besides this, these men consulted the works of ancient and approved authors concerning the same sacred rites; and thus they have restored the Missal itself to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers.”

— ‘Pope St. Pius V (Quo Primum, 1570)’

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