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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing—direct murder by the mother herself. And we read in the Scripture, for God says very clearly: “Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you: I have carved you in the palm of my hand.”

— Mother Theresa (11 Dec 1979)

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