Views from the Choir Loft

Are your Triduum booklets ready?

Andrew Leung · March 19, 2015 ·

WO WEEKS AGO, I wrote this post about the importance of Liturgical Catechesis and how it can help prepare your congregation for the “fancy program” that you might be doing for the Triduum. Now, Holy Thursday is only two weeks from today and I would like to offer another suggestion that would help your congregation to actively participate in the Liturgy.

Unfortunately, we do not have a missal like the St. Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal currently at my parish. That makes it very difficult for the people to understand the Propers that my Scholae chant at Sunday Masses. I have to print out three hundred copies of translation sheet every week. I usually include the translation of the antiphons, motets, the name and numbers of the congregational hymns, and occasionally some Catechesis about Sacred Music or the Liturgy. It is very important to help people to understand the Church’s traditions and the text of the music. I have to admit that typing up a translation sheet every week can be annoying, but this “extra effort” is so important that every music director should do.

In two weeks, we will be celebrating the Sacred Triduum and the Liturgies for those three days are the longest and richest in the Liturgical Year. I prepared a booklet instead of the regular translation sheet for each day of the Triduum. These booklets have the translation of all the Propers and motets, and also the special rites and prayers during Holy Week. Traditional music is definitely very important and should be preserved. But at the same time, we must help people understand these Catholic traditions and pray through them. Don’t be the Pharisees and scribes.

These pictures are very useful if you want to include some art works in your programs.

About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers and music director at Our Lady of China Church. He is also an artist and vocal coach at the Paul Phoenix Academy.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski