VIDEO • Light And Darkness

Aurelio Porfiri · October 13, 2014

INCLUDED DURING this beautiful reflection by Aurelio Porfiri are exclusive interviews with Fr. Corrado Maggioni and Rodolfo Papa.

Please examine CHORALIFE, an exciting new global publisher,
established in 2013 by Aurelio Porfiri, to make high quality music
affordable and readily available to all parts of the world.

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).

“Portable organ shall be lowered…”

Alonso Lobo (1555-1617) started out as an assistant to Father Guerrero (d. 1599). In the book by Stevenson—which I never grow tired of praising—we find this wonderful excerpt which provides fascinating details vis-à-vis musical performance circa 1600AD. I like how it says that on Easter the prosa “must be the one composed by Morales.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Why Text Only?

Why do hymns in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal give so many optional “text only” versions of the hymns? It’s easier to demonstrate than explain. Consider Hymn #24, which allows the director to choose a wonderful melody and easily apply it to the text. Hymnal editors knew about the value of “text only” versions for centuries, but this was gradually forgotten in Catholic books. In 2018, the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal rediscovered what should never have disappeared in the first place!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Choral Eavesdropping” • 15 Sept. 2022

If you enjoy eavesdropping, here’s a rehearsal excerpt (mp3) of my volunteers singing the exercise I posted last week. This is the second time we’ve used it, and I can definitely hear improvement. You can download this choral warm-up for free.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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