Views from the Choir Loft

Richard Rice • SATB Kyrie from Mass VIII

Jeff Ostrowski · June 22, 2015

ICHARD RICE has composed a wonderful choral version of Kyrie VIII and graciously made the official score available for free. To make it easier for my choir to sing—since our volunteer choir includes amateurs uncomfortable with repeat barlines—I have created a performance edition.

The following audio excerpt removes the organ to demonstrate the lush harmonies:

* * Audio Excerpt • Voices without organ

Listen to the first Kyrie without the Soprano line:

* * Audio Excerpt • Without Soprano

Can you hear the tune? Here’s that same section with Soprano included.

Organists might appreciate downloading this.

THE FOLLOWING REHEARSAL RESOURCES will help your choir learn this lovely piece & sing it with confidence:

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube • Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube • Audio

ALTO : YouTube • Audio

TENOR : YouTube • Audio

BASS : YouTube • Audio

Mr. Rice has composed choral versions for each section of Mass VIII. The complete score is 25 pages, and was posted on the CMAA forum a few weeks ago.

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

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).

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

Have You Done This?

Friends, have you done this yet? I’m talking about subscribing to our free mailing list. We beg you! Do this as soon as possible. Scroll to the bottom of any article, and you will see the place you input your email.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Giovanni Doni is known for having changed the name of note “Ut,” renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that 1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut,” and 2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the tonic and root of the world. There is much academic speculation that Giovanni Doni also wanted to imprint himself into musical canon in perpetuity because “Do” is also ulteriorly an abbreviation for his family name.

— Giovanni Battista Doni died in 1647AD