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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Mass of the Alabaster Jar” (2016)

Guest Author · October 27, 2016

(Mt 26: 7-8) |There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he was at table. And the disciples seeing it, had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this waste?


708 Magdalene Brandon HE MASS SETTINGS I have composed and offer freely—Mass of the Alabaster Jar and Mass in honor of St. Veronica—are colorful yet simple settings of the Ordinary prayers intended for use during Advent, Lent, and any other time in which they would help draw people into the nobility and simplicity of the liturgy. They were also written with a practical purpose in mind: to be as “user-friendly” as possible without compromising beauty and appeal.

Assembly sheets have been included toward the end of each file:

    * *  PDF • “Mass of the Alabaster Jar” (2016)

    * *  PDF • “Mass in Honor of St. Veronica” (2016)

I live in the “thumb” of Michigan and am quite familiar with the challenges faced by many rural parishes with regard to music. Many accompanists and singers lack formal musical training and therefore experience difficulty performing most Mass settings. The keyboard accompaniments for my Mass settings were written to be easily played by pianists and organists of an intermediate skill level. Indeed, they are accessible to anyone who can read music and play simple traditional hymns. The melodies fit the contour and meaning of the prayer texts and can be sung easily without accompaniment.

These Mass settings can also be downloaded from the Corpus Christi Watershed Mass Tome.


We hope you enjoyed this guest article by Brandon Byrne.


BRANDON BYRNE currently serves as Interim Music Director at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Marysville, MI, and is pursuing a Diploma of Music Ministry from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He lives in Michigan with his wife and two children.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: January 13, 2020

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The liturgical reform bears absolutely no relation to what is called “desacralization” and in no way intends to lend support to the phenomenon of “secularizing the world.” Accordingly the rites must retain their dignity, spirit of reverence, and sacred character.

— Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (5 September 1970)

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