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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Complete Palestrina Edition • Now Online!

Jeff Ostrowski · October 14, 2016

772 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina NTIL RECENTLY, I did not realize the complete works of GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA (d. 1594) are available online. The edition is by Monsignor Francis Xavier Haberl (d. 1910), a student of Proske, and what he produced is nothing short of miraculous. Moreover, his modal sensitivity is not what we might expect from a 19th-century musician. 1

Some might not understand how to read the clefs used by Haberl—but all you have to do is click here. Next week, I’ll demonstrate how these scores can be entered into SIBELIUS or FINALE to avoid archaic clefs.

Credit for these marvelous scores belongs to several groups, especially the IMSLP website. However, many find IMSLP confusing, partially due to numerous dead links. Therefore, a former student of mine created direct links to the complete Masses of Palestrina:

    * *  PDF   •   BOOK 1 of Masses (184 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 2 of Masses (162 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 3 of Masses (201 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 4 of Masses (147 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 5 of Masses (151 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 6 of Masses (161 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 7 of Masses (120 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 8 of Masses (150 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 9 of Masses (157 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 10 of Masses (154 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 11 of Masses (140 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 12 of Masses (144 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 13 of Masses (160 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 14 of Masses (158 pages)

* *  PDF   •   BOOK 15 of Masses (160 pages)

But Palestrina wrote more than just Mass settings!

Click here to download every piece Palestrina ever composed.

THE TREASURES are beyond belief. Consider Palestrina’s hymn settings, including an alternate version of the “Vexilla Regis” for 14 September. Consider his captivating version of “Ave Maris Stella.” Consider the polyphonic settings of the KYRIE at the beginning of his litanies—which are surely the shortest settings of the KYRIE ever composed! Consider the marvelous canons in his Missa Ad Coenam Agni Providi. Consider the awesome power of his six-voice Missa Ave Maria, especially Agnus II.

By the way, the IMSLP website contains numerous authentic part books:

776 Pange Lingua PALESTRINA

We need to ask Nancho Alvarez, the indisputable master of Renaissance scores, to do for Palestrina what he’s done for Victoria, Guerrero, and Morales. But Haberl’s editions will suffice while we wait!

 


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Indeed, he demonstrates a better “ear & sense” for musica ficta than some modern scholars I’ve encountered. In graduate school, we were taught to look down on the efforts of Haberl—and that advice was totally wrong!

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: April 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

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Religious worship supplies all our spiritual need, and suits every mood of mind and variety of circumstance.

— John Henry Cardinal Newman

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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