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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

Restoring Catholic Music in the Home

Veronica Brandt · June 15, 2013

LITTLE WHILE AGO another mother said she would like to teach her children good hymns but she had no idea where to start. She had a feeling that the music at her local parish was not enough and she could do better, but with no training she felt totally inadequate to the task.

My first reaction was – just go trawl youtube and see what you like. That’s what I would do. But I have twenty years or more experience of trawling through hymnbooks. Much of this music is totally new to most of the Catholic population. It’s like someone wanting to learn to swim and pointing to the ocean and saying “Go for your life! Heaps of water in there.”

But, on the other hand, taste in music is subjective, especially in what you sing at home. The whole point of hymns is to be an aid to prayer. If it works for your family, then go for it! Everyone in the house is going to have different favourites. By listening to their feedback, your own family’s style will emerge.

Keep fishing for new music too. The more you learn, the more you can learn. Music directors keep getting told to slow down introducing new music, but in the home that doesn’t matter so much. Your group is smaller and easier to manoeuvre than the average parish.

Something I realised I could do to help was to post a new hymn and chant each week. So far I’ve managed three weeks. I send out an email each Friday with the links. There’s also a little copywork sheet with a few words from the upcoming Sunday’s gospel (Extraordinary Form so far). See brandt.id.au if this appeals to you.

In necessities, unity. In doubtful matters, liberty. In all things, charity.

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

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
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

Random Quote

“So, as in delirium a man talks in a long-forgotten tongue, now—when her heart is rent—the Catholic Church drops twenty centuries without an effort, and speaks as she spoke underground in Rome, and in Paul’s hired house, and in Crete and Alexandria and Jerusalem.”

— A non-Catholic describing the “Hagios O Theos” of Good Friday in 1906

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