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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

Can Church Musicians Learn From An Online Role-Playing Game?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 15, 2014

861 Flame Wreath WOULD LOVE TO EXPLAIN to you World of Warcraft, but I haven’t the first clue how to play. Yet, tons of my friends have been obsessed with it for years. I can tell you it’s time-consuming, expensive, and impossible to “win.”

I’ll never forget my surprise shortly after moving to Texas, when I noticed polyphonic music emanating from my roommate’s section of the house. One of the WoW players had gotten sick of his comrades moving after “flame wreath” was cast (which causes the raid to blow up). This clever guy composed & recorded a 15-second song to chastise them:

      * *  Mp3 Audio: “I Will Not Move When Flame Wreath Is Cast Or The Raid Blows Up”

Each repeat, ANOTHER VOICE is added to his catchy tune. (You heard it?)

But watch out … once that tune gets in your head, it’s quite difficult to forget. 1

WHAT MAKES IT SO INTERESTING, of course, is that he “layers” each successive voice upon the previous one. I took a few measures from my St. Arrowsmith Mass to illustrate the same concept:


Perhaps I should “expose” snippets like that more often, to help people appreciate the polyphonic textures. This “richness” helps assure that Church music never gets old—new treasures always await the patient listener! To learn more about the Arrowsmith setting, please click here.

Incidentally, when I was in college, Dr. Mark Holmberg—a KU professor of Music Theory—visited our office (since we were working on a project together). My brother was playing Everquest, which is similar to WoW. At that moment, he was chasing a frog and hitting it with a sword, causing the frog to emit gold coins. Dr. Holmberg was absolutely fascinated by this, especially when the frog started swimming and my brother’s character followed him into the lake.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Perhaps someone would be willing to compose & record a similar song for the difference between “Sung” and “Spoken” Propers—after all, some good folks still don’t understand this concept.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: I Will Not Move When Flame Wreath Is Cast 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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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

“Only against this background, of the effective denial of the authority of Trent, can one understand the bitterness of the struggle against allowing the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal after the liturgical reform. The possibility of so celebrating constitutes the strongest, and thus (for them) the most intolerable contradiction of the opinion of those who believe that the faith in the Eucharist, as formulated by Trent, has lost its validity.”

— Cardinal Ratzinger, 2001

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