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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

Does Polyphony “Fit” Ordinary Form Masses?

Jeff Ostrowski · July 11, 2017

URING THE SACRED MUSIC SYMPOSIUM, I described how to painlessly add polyphony to the Ordinary Form by “sneaking it in” with choral extensions. So much information was shared during our conference—from 7:30am until 9:30pm each day, literally—that I wasn’t able to spend sufficient time explaining.

Therefore, I’ve created this video:

REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice await you at #4884.
As always, the PDF score can be downloaded there, too.


If you desire an Mp3 version of this video, click here.


IF YOU DON’T HAVE enough voices to do the example above, consider the following: Guerrero “Iste Sanctus” (#5294); Palestrina Short (#6482); Palestrina Longer (#6995); Guerrero “Beata Mater” (#3347, #3661, #3579); Durieux (#4638); Palestrina “Impleta sunt” (#5053, #5054); Brudieu (#4327).

The Mass setting in the video is from Victoria’s Officium Defunctorum. This is a famous piece, and I was too scared to “vandalize it” by transposing it up a whole step—but my choir will most likely do so. Fr. Victoria’s work is based on the Requiem KYRIE, so I could have chosen the plainsong accordingly, but only if we were singing it for an actual Requiem. Despite what some assert, these are not rigid rules that can’t be changed. For example, most editors choose Mode II for Allegri’s Miserere Mei, but the actual music is based on the Tonus Peregrinus. Indeed, Sanctus VIII was taken verbatim from O Quam Suavis Est; but does that mean Sanctus VIII can only be sung on feasts where that Antiphon is employed? I think not.

I recorded all the voices for the above video except the third section, which was recorded by volunteers at Sacred Music Symposium 2017. Can you hear the difference? Listen closely to the richness in the third section, which begins at the 2:17 marker.

Don’t expect the congregation to understand immediately when they are supposed to sing. It will take at least a year before they begin to understand. At the Symposium, we spoke of the importance of using the same structure every Sunday for a long time before the good fruits become evident. That is why I would never dream of introducing the propers at OF Masses unless the congregation had a book such as the Isaac Jogues Pew Lectionary, which has 100% of the propers in Latin and English. I repeat: it takes years to reintroduce authentic liturgy, because our people have been robbed for half a century.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: O Quam Suavis Est Last Updated: June 3, 2021

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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

    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
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —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

Random Quote

“The Chasuble, or upper garment, represents the purple garment which the soldiers put upon Jesus Christ, and the heavy cross that He carried on His blessed shoulders to Mount Calvary.”

— Guide for the Laity (1875)

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