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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

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

After ordering the bishops to appoint in each diocese “special commission of persons who are really competent in the matter, to whom they will entrust the duty of watching over the music performed in the churches in whatever way may seem most advisable,” Pope Pius X continues—“this commission will insist on the music being not only good in itself, but also proportionate to the capacity of the singers, so that it may be always well executed.”

— Dom Alphege Shebbeare (Downside Review)

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