Views from the Choir Loft

Bottega • Aurelio Porfiri

Aurelio Porfiri · June 23, 2014

URELIO PORFIRI OFFERS INSPIRATION to all who work with him. His attitude and gifts have taught me a lot and I owe him a great debt of gratitude. It is a great privilege to know and work with him.” — Colin Mawby (Westminster)

English

St. Augustine Mass • “Lord, Have Mercy” : 6166 (organist) • 6165 (vocalist) • (youtube)

St. Augustine Mass • “Holy, Holy, Holy” : 6164 (organist) • 6163 (vocalist) • (youtube)

St. Augustine Mass • “Lamb of God” : 6168 (organist) • 6167 (vocalist) • (youtube)

There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy (Faber) : 6162 (organist) • 6161 (vocalist)

The Praises Of My Tongue (Watts) : 6160 (organist)

Hail Mary : 6170 (organist) • 6169 (vocalist)

Pentatonic Mass • “Glory To God” : 6157 (organist) • 6156 (vocalist)

Communion Antiphon (9th Sunday in Ordinary Time) : 6153 (organist) • 6152 (vocalist)

Gospel Acclamation for the Feast of Saint Francis : 5901 (organist)

English Responsorial Psalms

Rejoice In the Lord (Ps. 97) : 6116 (organist) • 6117 (vocalist)

Here Am I, Lord (Ps. 40) : 6159 (organist)

The Lord Is My Shepherd (Ps. 23) : 6155 (organist)

Have Mercy On Us, O Lord (Ps. 50) : 6158 (organist)

Italian

Presentation of the Gifts (1st Sunday of Advent) : 6142 (organist/cantor)

Introit (1st Sunday of Advent) : 6141 (organist) • 6140 (cantor)

6139 A te il regno

6138 A Te, Signore

6137 Angelo di Dio

6136 Ave Maria

6135 Io gioisco pienamente Magnificat

6134 Risuoni la mia bocca

Latin

Bone Pastor Panis Vere (From the Lauda Sion) : 6151 (SATB)

O Salutaris Hostia : 6115 (organist/vocalist)

Quid Retribuam Domino : 6114 (organist & vocal parts)

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

About Aurelio Porfiri

Renowned as composer, conductor, theorist, author, pedagogue, and organist, Aurelio Porfiri has served the Church on multiple continents at the highest levels. Born and raised in Italy, he currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Composer in Residence for Santa Rosa de Lima School (Macao, China).

Hymn Lyrics Which Don’t Fit

If we grow up singing hymns, we’re incapable of judging them—because we’re “too close” to them. People who know and love “Abide with me, fast falls the eventide” probably never realized the first word is one of the most egregious examples of incorrect accentuation. (The correct accent for “abide” is on the second syllable, not the first.) Similarly, when “O God, our help in ages past” is sung to SAINT ANNE, the word “under” should be replaced with “beneath”—otherwise the accentuation is incorrect. Another egregious example would be “Come Holy Ghost” (sung to LAMBILLOTTE), which incorrectly accents the final syllable of the word Comforter (“O Comforter, to Thee we cry…”).

—Jeff Ostrowski

12 July 2021 • FEEDBACK

A reader from Chicago writes: “Your work is exemplary, and these past 15 months have put into clear focus for me just how important Corpus Christi Watershed is as an evangelizing voice in the Church. During this pandemic, we have moved away from the ‘big publisher’ psalters, employing nearly exclusively your settings, which (in my opinion) are melodically appealing and perfectly embody the essence of ‘sacred music’—evoking chant, but looking forward to the future. Bravo, composers! We are pleased to have been able to contribute a small gift toward the vast amount of CCW music we have used in the past 16 months. Your site is professional, and your content is excellent. Moving from hymnody to propers during the pandemic was a revelation.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

PT Barnum, Henri Herz, + 1,000 candles

In the annals of pianism, there were some fakers: Vladimir de Pachmann, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Leopold de Meyer, and Henri Herz. A hilarious story is told by Harold C. Schonberg about Henri Herz, his manager (Bernard Ullman), and 1,000 candles. I think you will enjoy reading it.

—Jeff Ostrowski