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Views from the Choir Loft

Do You Recognize This Hymn Tune?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 14, 2016

119 St. Robert Southwell HE JESUIT PRIEST and brilliant poet, Saint Robert Southwell, earned his crown of martyrdom at age thirty-three. 1 He left us beautiful verses, and the bravery he demonstrated during his life shows he believed what he wrote—to the very core of his soul. In the CAMPION HYMNAL, many of his religious texts were set to delightful music.

Here’s an example, which focuses on something we don’t like to think about, namely our sins:

This globe of earth doth thy one finger prop,
The world thou dost within thy hand embrace;
Yet all this weight of sweat drew not a drop,
Nor made thee bow, much less fall on thy face;
But now thou hast a load so heavy found,
That makes thee bow, yea fall flat to the ground.

(It’s the second verse of #826 in the Campion Hymnal.)

ONE MUST ALWAYS STRIVE to marry hymn texts to melodies with care and sensitivity. The following is a famous text by St. Robert Southwell, but do you recognize the tune?

121 Southwell MATERNA


It’s a beautiful tune, but I don’t think it could be used—because the association to something secular is (in my opinion) too strong.

Consider two more “grotesque” hymn pairings:

    * *  Example 1 • pairs an Easter text

    * *  Example 2 • pairs “At the Lamb’s High Feast.”

Were you able to discern the melodies?

WHILE POSTING THOSE VERSES by Saint Robert Southwell (SEE ABOVE) I stumbled upon something I published years ago. Now, you must understand that in general I’m a person who hates everything he’s ever done. I’m always embarrassed when I see my old writings or my old projects. This time, however, it was different. Believe it or not, I was spellbound by how good this particular project of mine came out—and I’d previously forgotten I was the author!

But I must say something else.

No matter how great our “accomplishments” are, they are nothing compared to what God does. Anyone who’s a parent, think about your children—how perfect they are. The way their bodies develop: ears; stomach; eyes; hair; feet; and so forth. And the way their little minds develop!

As parents, we had nothing to do with this; it’s 100% God. And no matter how much we develop, through practice and study, our creations are NOTHING compared to the perfections of the children God creates and entrusts to our care. God the Father was “well pleased” in His Son, and this should give parents something to meditate upon during their holy hours.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Please do read the beautiful words spoken by Fr. Hardon about St. Southwell.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Jeff Ostrowski

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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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

Random Quote

“If he converses with the learned and judicious, he delights in their talent—if with the ignorant and foolish, he enjoys their stupidity. He is not even offended by professional jesters. With a wonderful dexterity he accommodates himself to every disposition. As a rule, in talking with women (even with his own wife) he is full of jokes and banter.”

— ‘Erasmus on St. Thomas More (England’s 1st lay Chancellor)’

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