Views from the Choir Loft

New Choir Stalls for the Sistine Chapel Choir

Andrew Leung · December 26, 2015

HOPE EVERYONE had a wonderful Christmas! Today, I finally had time to watch the Midnight Mass at the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel Choir, as I mentioned before, is sounding better each time and looks like they got new choir stalls recently. I am sure that the nice choir stalls are contributing to that nice blending. On the right, the bottom picture shows the new choir stalls and the top picture was taken a few years ago when the Westminster Abbey Choir visited Rome.

The Holy Father celebrated this Mass mainly in Latin and the Roman Canon was also said. The Sistine Chapel Choir sang beautifully. The men chanted like monks and the boys sounded like they have been training in Britain. Here is a video of Silent Night, which was sung after the Communio. The new choir stalls can also be seen in this video (4:14).

And here is a video of the Introit chanted by the men, nicely and calmly.

If you would like to watch the whole Mass, here is a video from the Vatican Youtube channel. Here are some highlights you won’t want to miss:

Processional Hymn – Angels We Have Heard On High with beautiful descants (6:20)

Solemn Proclamation of the Nativity (13:00)

The Nine-fold Kyrie IX (23:14)

Credo III with a special arrangement of Et incarnatus est (57:25)

Communio – In splendoribus with harmonized verses (1:31:19)

Recessional Hymn – Adeste Fideles arranged by Sir David Willcocks (1:45:50)

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

About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

For the Upcoming Choir Season!

Last week, I posted an SATB choral setting of the SANCTUS in a ‘contemporary’ style. You might want to consider this piece for two reasons: (1) It’s extremely brief; (2) Free rehearsal videos are available for each individual part. The piece is by Father Lhoumeau.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Sunday Vespers” (22 pages)

When an organist accompanies Vespers, there is no time to think. It’s one thing after another: Bam – Bam – Bam. And that’s what makes Vespers difficult to accompany; there’s hardly even time to check the key signature for each piece! Therefore, although it’s far from perfect, I’m releasing this 22-page booklet:

PDF Download • SUNDAY VESPERS ACCOMPANIMENT

As time goes on, I will explain why I believe this booklet is important, my hopes for it, and why I selected the official edition, directly from the Vesperale Romanum. In spite of its imperfections, creating this (draft) booklet required much more effort than I had anticipated.

—Jeff Ostrowski

11 July 2022 • FEEDBACK

Someone who heard the CCW plainsong recordings with NOH accompaniment says: “For years I have travelled the continents and crossed the oceans of Gregorian chant in search of a composition and interpretation as sublime as this. The text and the melody are interwoven in a game of mirrors with the interpreters, the singer and the instrumentalist, so as to confer delicacy on the jubilation. The organ is soft, humble. This is what we hear from the singer. These artists have come together to produce beauty. In 1903, Pope Pius X, by motu proprio, restored Gregorian chant in the Latin Church. In his words: Sacred music must possess, to an eminent degree, the qualities proper to the liturgy, and notably the sanctity and delicacy of form, whence another characteristic spontaneously results, universality. I stress: the holiness and delicacy of forms result in universality, time and place. That is to say, sometimes the beauty of human hands gently caresses the face of the Eternal.”

—Jeff Ostrowski