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Views from the Choir Loft

Sensational Hymn for St. Joseph … with Modern Polyphony!

Jeff Ostrowski · July 6, 2016

Y CHOIR GREATLY ENJOYS singing Mercier’s CANONIC GLORIA, which uses the Editio Vaticana version of Gloria III as a canon between men and women. Mercier’s luxuriant modern harmonies never get old, melding perfectly with the ancient plainsong. In the footnote section, I mentioned the “in house” collection where I found that Gloria.

The following hymn comes from that same book, except Mercier appears to have chosen a French variant instead of the Vaticana melody. 1

I attempted to record the vocal lines myself—to give a rough idea how this piece sounds—but just remember I’m a baritone! These harmonies were meant to be sung by a full choir:

    * *  PDF • “CAELITUM JOSEPH” by Raphaël Mercier (d. 1953)

REHEARSAL VIDEOS :

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube   •   Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : YouTube   •   Audio

ALTO : YouTube   •   Audio

TENOR : YouTube   •   Audio

BASS : YouTube   •   Audio

Organists can teach the chant melody using this score.

Or they can print the Lower Key for training purposes.


Our priest has a special devotion to St. Joseph, so we’ll be singing this piece a lot at our FSSP Apostolate here in Los Angeles.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   For the record, neither does it correspond to Mocquereau’s 1903 Liber Usualis. In that book, Mocquereau chose a “Renaissance” variant which matches the one chosen by polyphonic composers such as Fr. Victoria (†1611) and Fr. Asola (†1609).

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Caelitum Joseph, Coelitum Joseph Decus, Contemporary Sacred Music, Raphael Mercier 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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Coming Soon! • Symposium 2023
    A few weeks ago, dates were announced for Sacred Music Symposium 2023. The rehearsal videos are beginning to appear! For example, the KYRIE ELEYSON contains sections by Lassus, Victoria, and Palestrina. You can see and hear Part 1 at this link. Much more information about this wonderful conference will be released soon!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

It was thought important that the song should actually accompany the distribution of Communion. A Carolingian explanation of the Mass remarks that during the Communion “soft melody should touch the ear [of the faithful] so that hearing this sound they would busy themselves less with distracting thoughts and … their hearts would be moved to humble love for that which they receive.”

— Father Josef Andreas Jungmann

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