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Views from the Choir Loft

How did your Holy Week go?

Veronica Brandt · April 11, 2015

candle OLY WEEK IS A MASSIVE EVENT. Singing for the Sacred Triduum and Easter ceremonies is an awesome privilege. The more you think about it, the more enormous it seems. And after it passes there is an enormous relief. Coming out the other side can be very sweet indeed, even when things didn’t always go quite as planned.

In the spirit of a overwhelmed and collapsed inarticulate person, I’ll proceed in disconnected recounts:

Most memorable moment:

The Litany of the Saints when miss 2 demands help with her socks. The three of us leading were kneeling in the back pew, well out of view. I tried as best I could between invocations to figure out what she wanted and keep her happy. It must have impressed her because she started singing along with “ora pro nobis”.

Of course everyone complimented her on how well she behaved throughout the week.

Favourite music:

The Reproaches. We only sang from Popule meus down to the end of Sanctus Immortalis. My eldest son was choir 2. I was choir 1. Have I mentioned we could use some more choir members?

My introduction to this piece of music was by way of Victoria’s polyphonic setting, which is awesome. I was disappointed at first with the plainchant original, but it has definitely grown on me since then. The more you get into the chant the more it gets into you.

Trickiest music:

Easter Sunday Day Mass offertory and communion – but mostly because I overlooked practising sufficiently for them. Fortunately my mother was there with more experience and I could lean on her. The rest of the choir had been focused on learning the Ordinary parts of the Mass. After that we had only got as far as the Introit and Haec Dies. You do what you can.

Notes for next time:

Remember that they use incense for Holy Thursday so make use of the extra verses for the Introit. Booklights for the Easter Vigil Canticles and make sure there are no page turns while singing. Also pick the recessional hymn ahead of time and tell any potential singers about it a good week in advance. Also have someone with you while you play the organ who can keep an eye on what’s happening up the front. If you’ve run out of verses and you’re still waiting for the priest to come past then it could just be some slow servers.

And get a T-shirt made with the slogan: “Silence is Always an Option”

After all that, there were many, many compliments. Lots of people enjoyed the music.

Happy Easter! Christos Anesti!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Beauty, Holy Week Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“You should try to eat their food in the way they prepare it, although it may be dirty, half-cooked, and very tasteless. As to the other numerous things which may be unpleasant, they must be endured for the love of God, without saying anything or appearing to notice them.”

— Fr. Paul Le Jeune (1637)

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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