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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

Video • “Three Approaches To A Catholic Hymn”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 10, 2015

The following video shows three (3) ways that hymns are sung by our choir:


That haunting setting—in English—of the PANGE LINGUA of St. Thomas Aquinas was taken from the Campion Hymnal. It can also be sung in Latin, and the “Second Approach” (see video) is a good way for amateur choirs. Here’s the score with English translation by Fr. Adrian Fortescue:

    * *  PDF Download • “SECOND APPROACH”

The “Second Approach” should not be sung without organ accompaniment. When we use this approach, I often provide rehearsal files like these:

Equal voices   •   YouTube   •   Audio Mp3

Ladies   •   YouTube   •   Audio Mp3

Gentlemen   •   YouTube   •   Audio Mp3

How do you sing hymns? Please let me know on the CCW Facebook page or send an Email using the “CONTACT” button at the top.

WE WILL SOON RELEASE more information about the SAINT JEAN DE BRÉBEUF HYMNAL project. Among other things, we will release our “goals & criteria” for this hymnal—but we’re not finished fighting over them yet!  Here’s one thing we all agree upon:

There is such a thing as beautiful language. Not all language is beautiful. By the way, “beautiful” is not the same as “old.”

One practice that distinguished the Campion Hymnal was how—in addition to the common hymns all Catholics know and love—many lesser-known texts were paired with beautiful melodies, as was done in the 19th-century hymnals as a matter of course. We will continue this practice in the Brébeuf. By clicking on the HYMNAL BUTTON—located at top of the page—and scrolling down, you can start emailing your hymn suggestions. Please follow the Pie Pellicane Rule when sending suggestions:

PIE PELLICANE RULE :
If you send a hymn suggestion, explain the significance. Don’t assume everyone understands. In the beautiful hymn Adoro Te Devote (St. Thomas Aquinas) a line says “Pie Pellicane,” referring to an ancient legend that—if her children are dying of hunger—the mother pelican will wound herself, feeding her children with her own blood. That’s why Christ is called the “Divine Pelican.” Understanding the significance behind a hymn is important. Don’t assume everyone understands why you’re moved by a given hymn.

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

Filed Under: Articles 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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Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Indeed, we may not hope for real Latin poetry any more, because Latin is now a dead language to all of us. However well a man may read, write, or even speak Latin now, it is always a foreign language to him, acquired artificially. It is no one’s mother tongue. Does a man ever write real poetry in an acquired language?”

— Rev’d Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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