Views from the Choir Loft

Rehearsal Videos • Masterpiece w/ Cantus Firmus

Jeff Ostrowski · June 9, 2016

URING A DISCUSSION at the Sacred Music Symposium, we spoke about the importance of “layered” pieces for volunteer choirs. I hope you will go here and download the 128-page musical book, because page 70 is devoted entirely to the concept of layered pieces. Moreover, I hope you will visit this page and find #3473, because otherwise the following piece will confuse you. It can replace verse 3, and that’s why I’ve called it “Verse 3b.” It uses that same beautiful Gregorian hymn for the CANTUS FIRMUS in a spectacular way. (I really do hope you’ll investigate #3473 !!!)

Can you tell which voice is not mine? ¹

* * PDF Download • Verse 3b from HYMN TO THE SACRED TRINITY

REHEARSAL VIDEOS :

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube • Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube • Audio

CANTUS FIRMUS : YouTube • Audio

ALTO : YouTube • Audio

TENOR : YouTube • Audio

BASS : YouTube • Audio

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 I used a professional singer for one of the voice parts.

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski

15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski