Views from the Choir Loft

Praise to the Holiest

Veronica Brandt · September 26, 2015 ·

RAISE TO THE HOLIEST IN THE HEIGHT
And in the depth be praise.
In all his words most wonderful
Most sure in all his ways.

Blessed Cardinal Newman wrote this hymn as part of a larger work called The Dream of Gerontius. It is an awesome hymn, bringing theology together in verse. But there is some diversity as to which tune suits it best.

In my area, the general consensus seems to point towards Thomas Haweis’ tune called Richmond. Listen to this rendition from New Zealand. It works and the choir and organ make a great sound, but those leaps are something of an accident waiting to happen in the hands of less capable singers.

Maybe it was these concerns that lead R R Terry from Westminster Cathedral to compose his version, known as Newman or Billing. There are similarities, but the tune is much simpler yet still grand. Hear it in action here.

This is also the version included in the old Vatican II Hymnal:
Page 287 • Praise To The Holiest In The Height (NEWMAN)
(organist) • (D Major, SATB) • (C Major, SATB)

The layout in the Campion Hymnal, Organist Vol II is even better, with just three verses inline with the music and the remainder printed below. I can’t wait to see how Jeff’s next hymnbook turns out!

There is another well known tune by J B Dykes called Gerontius. This one seems to be favored by Protestant hymnbooks. Here it is at Peterborough Cathedral.

There are many servicable tunes in the same meter. Joy to the World is one which everyone would surely know. The meter is 8 6 8 6 if you would like to check the metrical index of your favorite hymn book.

Although if you would like something really spectacular, there is Edward Elgar’s Orchestral Version.

About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. As editor, she has produced fine publications (as well as valuable reprints) dealing with Gregorian chant, hymnody, Latin, and other subjects. These publications are distinguished on account of their tastefulness. She lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her husband Peter and six children.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski