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Views from the Choir Loft

The Easiest Way To Teach Your Choir Polyphony

Jeff Ostrowski · August 4, 2015

Suppose you want your choir to launch into polyphony when “Asperges” is repeated, like this:


How would you go about teaching the notes and rhythm?

I suggest you use Solfège, the absolute best and easiest way to teach polyphony. How exactly does this work? Click on the links marked “Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass”—you’ll soon understand what I’m getting at:

      “ASPERGES ME” after Zachariis (†1594)   •   PDF Score (Singer)

SOPRANO : YouTube   •   Audio

ALTO : YouTube   •   Audio

TENOR : YouTube   •   Audio

BASS : YouTube   •   Audio

EQUAL VOICES (does not include Solfège) : YouTube   •   Mp3 Audio


Until the piece is sung perfectly in Solfège,1 do not allow your choir to sing the actual text. Solfège makes it so much easier to point out specific notes which need correction, especially in the middle of a melisma.

I RECOMMEND THIS polyphony score for the repeat only. For the rest of the chant, you might want to download this organ accompaniment, which I wrote out earlier this afternoon. Composed by Canon Van Nuffel, it’s as good as any other—and better than most. More resources for the “Asperges Me” are stored at the website honoring Saint Antoine Daniel, one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Choir members sometimes ask whether Solfège syllables will be sung during Mass. Explain to them that Solfège is never used at Mass; it’s merely a tool to help choirs learn their pitches and rhythm.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Asperges Me PDF Score Audio Recording 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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PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

From Chelan, Washington: “CCWatershed is a God-sent resource that I can’t function without! Such great work by the team to bring beauty back to our liturgy!” From Gainesville, Florida: “I am so appreciative of the work, of my brothers and sisters in music!” From Troutman, North Carolina: “Keep up the excellent work in service of the Liturgy!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

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Nothing should be allowed that is unworthy of divine worship, nothing that is obviously profane or unfit to express the inner, sacred power of prayer. Nothing odd or unusual is allowable, since such things, far from fostering devotion in the praying community, rather shock and upset it—and impede the proper and rightful cultivation of a devotion faithful to tradition.

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