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Views from the Choir Loft

Fifa World Cup

Aurelio Porfiri · June 24, 2014

DON’T KNOW WHY, but in these days of FIFA World Cup frenzy, I have a thought that is consistently in my mind: Which national soccer teams do you consider the best in the world, consistently, in soccer history? I would list the following: Italy (sorry to put it first), Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Great Britain, and Spain. If we look at those national teams consistently winning or shining, I think this should be the list. What do these countries have in common? They are (were) strongly Catholic countries. More precisely, they come from a Catholic tradition, which in some of them is clearly fading away.

Even if Great Britain is Anglican par excellence, we know that the similarities between Anglicans and Catholics are many, especially in the liturgical rite. What does the liturgy have to do with the World Cup of soccer? Nothing, probably, or maybe something. Indeed, what is soccer? The ability to organize human resources in a winning scheme, able to produce results and hopefully elegance in the development of the game. So we have the ability of the players to be part of a sort of rite, where everyone has his own role and where everyone is connected with the others. This connection is also important: if one player scores the winning point, the whole team participates in the victory, not just him.

I want to think that Catholic liturgy (and Anglican too, when of high standards) is not dissimilar from what we have said before. It is a rite that has its own reason, where every function is connected with the others. Where when someone sings, he is also singing for the others and not against the others. Where the beauty and elegance is functional to the final success of the rite—that in this case is the glory of God and the edification of the faithful. Who knows, maybe these two things, apparently so unrelated, soccer and liturgy, have more similarities than we can imagine.


BOTTEGA • Aurelio Porfiri is where you can discover
many of Mæstro Porfiri’s compositions in PDF format.

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 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).

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Quick Thoughts

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“…it would be a very praiseworthy thing and the correction would be so easy to make that one could accommodate the chant by gradual changes; and through this it would not lose its original form, since it is only through the binding together of many notes put under short syllables that they become long without any good purpose when it would be sufficient to give one note only.”

— Zarlino (1558) anticipating the Medicæa

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