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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • Immac. Conception Music Booklet

Jeff Ostrowski · December 8, 2016

583 Mary IMAGE OW SIMPLE is a “simple” Mass? Here at FSSP.la, we do a lot of polyphony. We also do tons of hymns and modern music. 1 But every so often we have a “simple” Mass, consisting of only plainsong.

When you download the booklet, I think you’ll agree that even a “simple” Mass is not that simple:

    * *  PDF Booklet • IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

By the way, make sure to read the translation of the Offertory Hymn. A more gorgeous text does not exist.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Most of our volunteer singers cannot read music, yet they are starting to sound really good. I recently heard a Cathedral choir sing Palestrina, Victoria, and plainsong for a televised Mass. All their singers are paid, yet—and this amazed me—our volunteer choir sounds better! That reminds us that paid singers don’t necessarily guarantee a beautiful performance.

Sometimes we’re so “close” to our choirs we can’t accurately judge how they sound. Shortly after we got married, I sketched my wife’s face in Conté crayon. I thought the result was awful, but she made me preserve it. I found it in the garage, and after all these years it looks a lot better than I had initially thought. The same is true of choirs, and a guest conductor can often give a nice perspective.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download 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

    Requesting Our Advent Eucharistic Hymn
    A young lady named Agnes wrote to us: “Dear Mr. Ostrowski, do you have the PDF score for Ave Corpus Domini set to the ADVENT melody? Last year, we sang the hymn tune “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland” quite a bit using your contrafactum technique. My choir appreciates the Latin hymns and practice videos, especially in the ADVENT and CHRISTMAS seasons. Your recent article on Gregorian Psalm Tones is a great help to my organist brother, and reminds us of attending VESPERS years ago when we lived in California. Thank you so much for all the effort put into providing these wonderful resources!”   Agnes, if you are listening! Yes, the PDF file you desire can be downloaded for free at the Brébeuf Portal via this URL link. Thanks for writing to us!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Message from the Vice-President!
    The Vice-President of the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz (who also serves as Director of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Detroit) sent us an email yesterday regarding the harmonizations (PDF) I composed for the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. Dr. Buchholz says: “Those settings are absolutely exquisite, as I'm used to when it comes from you. Bravo! Well done! Now, as a sequel, if you could write something for accompanying psalms in English that would be awesome.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Seven (7) Hymn Verses for November!
    In the month of November, we remember in a special way the souls in purgatory. The BRÉBEUF HYMNAL often includes text alone versions for its hymns; why is that? The short answer is: flexibility. The “text only” version allows each choirmaster to employ a myriad of melodies. For example, I recently set the English translation of “De Profúndis” with the DAVOST MELODY (PDF). We are singing this before November ends. Indeed, you can hear our volunteer singing this (in real life) if you click here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“For me, religious music ceased with the sixteenth century. The fresh, childlike souls of that time alone expressed their vehement, untainted fervor in music free from worldliness. Since then we have had pious musical improvisations more or less made for show. That wonderful man Johann Sebastian Bach only escaped because of his natural genius. He built harmonic edifices as a devout architect and not as an apostle.”

— Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

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