Views from the Choir Loft

SATB “Alleluia” By Palestrina • Brief, Easy, & Sumptuous

Jeff Ostrowski · August 25, 2015

HEN JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH visited King Frederick II on 7 May 1747, the king gave him a challenging fugue subject, which Bach used to create gorgeous music. Something similar was done with the melody of “Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La” by the great composers. My choir has already done a version by Morales, and now we are doing one by Palestrina:

* * PDF Download • ALLELUIA “Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La”

By the way, both those composers—Palestrina & Morales—wrote full Masses in which the theme constantly appears in the most ingenious ways.

The following rehearsal videos provide Solfège versions, and I believe that using Solfège will allow you to teach your choir this piece in no time flat. (Pardon the pun!)

Rehearsal Videos :

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube • Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube • Audio incl. Solfège

ALTO : YouTube • Audio incl. Solfège

TENOR : YouTube • Audio incl. Solfège

BASS : YouTube • Audio incl. Solfège

You owe it to yourself to sing through the Alto line … such fun!

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).

“Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)

I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”

Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Baptism” • A Unique Hymn

Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.

—Jeff Ostrowski