Views from the Choir Loft

Musical Resources • First Sunday of Advent (Extraordinary Form)

Jeff Ostrowski · November 29, 2015

RESPONSES FOR HIGH MASS

PDF Score (Singer) • printed on a single sheet

PROCESSIONAL • #796 Veni, Veni Emmanuel

From the Campion Hymnal. Organist.

ASPERGES

PDF Score (Singer) • Practice Audio (Singer) • Organist

To practice the new section of the Asperges, you must locate #4550.

INTROIT • Sung by the men only.

PDF Score (Singer) • Practice Audio (Singer)

KYRIE ELEISON

Our Palestrina Kyrie will be sung during Advent. The CHRISTE section (#5054) and the KYRIE section (#5053).

To practice the Kyrie by Richard Rice, which will sing again someday, you must locate #4781.

Sometimes we do a Kyrie from the Campion Hymnal. The organist needs this Accompaniment. To learn this piece, go here and find “Kyrie XI.”

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS

Glória in excélsis is omitted from the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas, except on Feasts.

GRADUAL & ALLELUIA

To practice the new Palestrina ALLELUIA, you must locate #4470. The other one we know is #5050.

You don’t need to practice the chant verses which change each week.

CREDO IV • Alternatim

PDF Score (Singer) • Practice Audio (Singer) • Organist

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON

PDF Score (Singer)

OFFERTORY

We will sing Praeclara Custos Virginum, which you learn by rehearsing #4022.

SANCTUS & HOSANNA

We have been singing #4912 and will sing it again this Sunday.

Sometimes—but not this coming Sunday—we sing a different polyphonic “Hosanna,” which is #5048. You don’t need to practice the Chant Part.

AGNUS DEI

To practice the Agnus Dei by Philippe Verdelot (d. 1531), you must locate #4801.

Don’t forget our other setting, #4347.

COMMUNION ORGAN

Organist … while choir receives Holy Communion.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON

PDF Score (Singer) • Practice Audio (Singer)

COMMUNION POLYPHONY

We will sing #4428 this Sunday. It is called “Jesu Dulcis Memoria.”

COMMUNION HYMN

Please practice #4063 (Te Saeculorum).

Organist uses this accompaniment.

RECESSIONAL HYMN • #797 O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

From the Campion Hymnal. Organist.

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

Responsorial Psalm Fauxbourdon?

When it comes to singing Responsorial Psalms in Fauxbourdon, what does this sound like in practice? Can such a thing be done successfully with volunteer choirs in real Catholic parishes? Listen to this audio excerpt from Good Friday and see what you think. Our parish volunteer choir did so well this year—and the ceremonies were ‘standing room only’. For the record, that musical score can be downloaded (completely free of charge) from the flourishing feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (Easter Sunday, 2026)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Easter Sunday—a.k.a. “Ad Missam in die Paschae”—which is 5 April 2026. Please feel free to download it as a PDF file if such a thing interests you. The Fauxbourdon for Communion is particularly moving.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Sprinkling Rite”

Liturgical reformers who gained power after Vatican II frequently caused great suffering to musicians. With the stroke of a pen, they sometimes make changes that would require thousands—or even millions—of man hours (work undertaken by composers and editors). The Sprinkling Rite during Eastertide is but one tiny example. The version given in that PDF document was the original melody for Roman Missal, Third Edition. Some still prefer that version. However, at the last moment, an “unknown hand” tinkered with a few notes in the antiphon. Those who examine the current edition can verify this with their own eyes.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Liturgical Law” (467 Pages)

On Good Friday during the middle ages, the pope privately recited THE ENTIRE PSALTER. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself by reading this passage by Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen (d. 1943). His famous book—called “Liturgical Law: A Handbook Of The Roman Liturgy”—was published by the Benjamin Herder Book Company, which was the American arm (operating out of St. Louis, Missouri) of one of the world’s most significant Catholic publishers. Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen was born in Switzerland but spent his career between the Benedictine monasteries at Conception (Missouri) and Mount Angel (Oregon). His 1931 masterpiece, Liturgical Law can be downloaded as a PDF file … 467 pages!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.

—Jeff Ostrowski