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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Rehearsal Videos • “O Magnum Mysterium” (Victoria)

Jeff Ostrowski · December 7, 2015

953 O Magnum Mysterium Victoria IKE MANY of his fellow composers, TOMÁS LUIS DE VICTORIA (†1611) was a Roman Catholic priest. 1 His distinctive religious sensibility was apparent in his compositions, and a striking example is his setting of the Responsory for the Octave Day of Christmas:

    * *  O Magnum Mysterium (PDF)

I’ve created rehearsal videos for each voice to help amateur choirs. It can be a bit frightening to tackle such a masterpiece—and sometimes feels like “rushing in where angels fear to tread”—but hopefully these practice videos help:

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube   •   Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube   •   Audio

ALTO : YouTube   •   Audio

TENOR : YouTube   •   Audio

BASS : YouTube   •   Audio

Renaissance composers frequently (but not always) left it up to the singers to add the sharps and flats. The rules for “musica ficta” are fairly straightforward, but—as many Renaissance theorists pointed out—problems arise when the various rules conflict.

Many editions of Victoria’s O Magnum Mysterium have a sharp for the Sopranos in measure 21 but a natural for Tenors in measure 20, even though they sing the exact same phrase. Here’s the Tenor line in a 1582 manuscript:

959 TENOR 1583b


There are reasons why Tenors might not sing a sharp—while the Sopranos do—but there are more compelling reasons why they ought to match. When I looked at a 1572 manuscript, I found that missing sharp for the Tenors:

958 O Magnum Mysterium Victoria 1572


Now I will reveal the “dirty little secret” about musica ficta: we prefer it how we learned it. In other words, we tend to prefer a piece the way we sang it the first time. For example, some editions have the Sopranos in measure 42 singing a natural—not a sharp—and there are compelling reasons for this; but in my edition, I keep the “traditional” way.

For those of you who know this piece, have you ever sung directly from the part book? Here’s how the TENOR would have been sung in the 16th century.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Cristóbal de Morales (†1553), Costanzo Porta (†1601), Lodovico Viadana (†1627), and Gregorio Allegri (†1652) were all clerics, and many more composers could be mentioned.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Tomas Luis de Victoria Composer 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 21st Sunday Ordin. Time
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) which is coming up on 24 August 2025. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. It’s set in a melancholy mode, but if you heard my choir’s female voices singing it your soul would be uplifted beyond belief. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

He stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year-old member of his family a cardinal and subsidize a nephew from the papal treasury.

— Re: Pope Saint Pius V (d. 1572)

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.