Views from the Choir Loft

New Gloria Mixing Plainsong w/ Polyphony

Jeff Ostrowski · June 14, 2016

HE FOLLOWING SETTING did not exist before yesterday night, so technically it’s “new.” However, all I did was apply falsobordone from Lodovico da Viadana (d. 1627) to GLORIA IX—so it’s not really new. For centuries, plainsong (“without meter”) was mixed with polyphony (“mensural music”), but these days it’s not as common. I recorded the voice parts, to help my choir learn—but it will sound better with a full choir, and we currently have about 35 singers.

The polyphony begins at the 0:37 mark:

* * PDF Download • Viadana Falsobordone w/ Plainsong

REHEARSAL VIDEOS :

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube • Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube • Audio

ALTO : YouTube • Audio

QUINTUS : YouTube • Audio

TENOR : YouTube • Audio

BASS : YouTube • Audio

Before using this piece, teach your choir GLORIA IX. You can download the score for your singers, and—to help them learn—consider this organ accompaniment by Flor Peeters:

* * PDF Download • Organ Accompaniment by Flor Peeters

I love Flor Peeters very much, and his accompaniment is fine—but it’s not his best. Perhaps he was in a hurry!

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).

6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski

2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski

31 December 2020 • “COMITES CHRISTI”

The feasts for Saint Stephen Proto-Martyr (26 December), Saint John the Evangelist The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (27 December), and the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December) seem untouched by any liturgical reforms. These are very powerful feasts—I believe they once possessed octaves—and I believe they could sometimes “overpower” a Sunday feast. The rules for octaves in the olden days are extremely complex. These feasts are sometimes referred to as a single entity as: Comites Christi (“Companions of Christ”). This is just a guess, but there seems to be a triple significance: STEPHEN martyred after Christ lived, JOHN was a martyr who knew Christ personally, and the HOLY INNOCENTS were martyred before Christ’s birth.

—Jeff Ostrowski