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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

Mesmerizing Credo Setting (SATB) • After Machaut

Jeff Ostrowski · April 3, 2017

HIS YEAR’S Symposium will be spectacular, and the response—from all over the world—has been overwhelming. The musical program, which is close to being finalized, almost seems a direct response to an article I wrote last January entitled True Vs. False Diversity. We have a bewildering variety of styles, and new works by famous composers will be revealed.

The Credo, arranged by Chaumonot, uses 14th-century polyphony by a Catholic priest named Guillaume de Machaut, who died in 1377AD:

    * *  PDF Download • CREDO based on Guillaume de Machaut

Fr. Machaut’s harmonies begin at the 0:28 marker:

REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice—along with PDF score—await you at #5984. If you like them, please consider donating $5.00 per month.

274 CREDO TWO YOUNG LADIES IN HIGH SCHOOL, Sarah and Jacqueline, generously helped record the rehearsal videos for these 14th-century harmonies. Sing through each individual line (cf. #5984) because the power is revealed “horizontally.” We created the rehearsal videos to help choirmasters, who have such a difficult vocation! Just the other day, I was pondering how many things music directors do behind the scenes that nobody sees. Even staying in contact with the choir members—phone calls, text messages, emails, and so forth—requires much time and energy. It’s truly a “twenty-four seven” job.

The PDF score mentions how Canon Machaut lived during a difficult period of church history. The Avignon papacy and the Western Schism were both longer in duration than I’d realized. The times in which we live are also difficult, especially from the standpoint of certain members of the hierarchy. Last month, for example, I read a scandalous interview with a high-ranking cardinal that can only be described as disgusting and heretical. For myself, I find it comforting to study history and recall how much the Church has withstood.

Good Catholics in those days sought divine assistance, and we must do the same. Moreover, when you examine the 14th-century Credo used for Chaumonot’s edition, you’ll agree they certainly knew how to create beautiful manuscripts in those days!

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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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

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
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Edwin Fischer was, on the concert platform, a short, leonine, resilient figure, whose every fibre seemed to vibrate with elemental musical power.”

— Daniel Barenboim (1960)

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