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Views from the Choir Loft

Do You Recognize This Hymn Tune?

Jeff Ostrowski · November 8, 2016

CURRENTLY SERVE on a committee established by the JP2 institute to produce a new Catholic hymnal named after St. Jean de Brébeuf, perhaps the greatest missionary of North America. Obviously, this book will include the “old standard” hymns, and plenty of them. (More on that later.) However, the book also includes contemprary hymn melodies—similar to how the CAMPION HYMNAL contained tunes by Kevin Allen—and also contemporary hymn texts. The following is an excerpt from one such text. By the way, none of the texts are written by me. Whatever talents I may possess, literary prowess is not among them.

The tune we’re considering was composed by Sir Richard R. Terry, editor of the Old Westminster Hymnal. I thought it would be fun to not reveal the tune name, because I want to see how many people recognize it. 1

I decided to record a couple verses. The women lines sung by me came out…interesting—but I did okay on Bass and Tenor. The SATB harmony starts at the 0:44 marker:


Those interested in submitting their own hymn texts should follow the instructions toward the bottom of this page. My work mainly involves musical stuff, and I’m glad to avoid some of the nitpicking and fighting that ensues when the committee evaluates contemporary hymn texts. I’ve witnessed heated exchanges when it comes to individual words in certain hymns. I guess “literary people” take words as seriously as musicians take music!



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I had not previously known this tune, but I am familiar with Sir Richard R. Terry, and especially his student, Dom Gregory Murray (1905-1992).

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

Filed Under: Uncategorized Last Updated: November 13, 2019

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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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Quick Thoughts

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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
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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!

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Random Quote

“As often as possible they gathered together the children of the village and sat them down in the cabin. Father Brébeuf would put on a surplice and biretta and chant the Our Father, which Father Daniel had translated into Huron rhymes, and the children would chant it after him. Next, he taught them the sign of the cross, the Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Commandments.”

— Biography of St. Jean de Brébeuf

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