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Views from the Choir Loft

Are Hymns Boring?

Jeff Ostrowski · April 6, 2014

686 ORGANIST HE MAJORITY of parishes I’ve attended sing hymns like this:

1st Verse:   Congregation, choir, & organ

2nd Verse:   Congregation, choir, & organ

3rd Verse:   Congregation, choir, & organ

4th Verse:   Congregation, choir, & organ

5th Verse:   Congregation, choir, & organ

6th Verse:   Congregation, choir, & organ


By the fourth verse, I’m already asleep … so boring!   Here’s how I like to sing hymns:

1st Verse:   Treble voices only with soft organ registration

2nd Verse:   Entire congregation with louder organ registration

… organ interlude/improvisation

3rd Verse:   Men’s voices only with organ

4th Verse:   Entire congregation with even louder organ registration

… organ interlude/improvisation takes the hymn into a higher key

5th Verse:   Choir singing SATB harmony without organ accompaniment

6th Verse:   Entire congregation sings, men on the melody, women on a descant, while the organist plays a different harmonization with heavy chromaticism

By the way, Our Lady of the Atonement uses something similar, and it’s marvelous.

WHEN I WAS COMMISSIONED to compose accompaniments for strophic Gregorian hymns in the 2012 edition of the St. Michael Hymnal, I insisted on providing different harmonizations for each verse. After all, this has been “standard practice” for almost 100 years (at least when it comes to composers who really know what they’re doing). The editors were not able to include them all (since this would have made the book too large) but I made it part of our official agreement that a link would be included next to each piece, showing where they can download the full accompaniments, and the editors agreed. Here’s that link:

      * *  Organ accompaniments to Gregorian hymns in St. Michael’s Hymnal

Was this a big deal? If you look at the CRUX FIDELIS or the SALVE FESTA DIES, you’ll begin to understand why this task required many hours.

I provide a video demonstration here:

      * *  Video explanation of Gregorian accompaniments

One of the people involved with Watershed at that time asked, “Why are you giving away all your compositional secrets?” The answer is simple: Watershed has always been about doing whatever we can to improve Church music. That is why, for instance, we made all 3,000 pages of the NOH available (here) for free download in 2008.

In the end, “variety” is the name of the game. Here are some articles which explain the importance of variety in Catholic liturgical music:

      * *  The G.I.R.M. Mentions “Hymnus” Only Once

      * *  A Simple Plan To Improve Music At Mass

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hymns Replacing Propers, Parish Book of Chant Organ Accompaniments 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

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

We cannot exaggerate our indebtedness to Dr. Julian’s “Dictionary of Hymnology,” a monumental work, without which we could not have reached the high standard of accuracy, as to both texts and authorship, which we set before us when entering upon our labours.

— Committee for “New English Hymnal” (1906)

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