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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

SATB “Alleluia” (Fr. Morales) • for both OF and EF

Jeff Ostrowski · November 13, 2017

UCH OF THE SACRED MUSIC SYMPOSIUM each year is spent discussing how choirmasters can survive in what is undoubtedly a very difficult profession. In the booklet each participant receives, we provide tons of scores with simple polyphony a volunteer choir can manage—and we meticulously describe ways of “sneaking polyphony into the Mass.” One of my favorite ways is to employ choral extensions. This can be done in the EF by mixing the psalm tones given on the René Goupil website with a polyphonic Alleluia like the one below. 1

Please pardon my screechy soprano voice, but I wanted to show how it sounds:

    * *  PDF Download • «ALLELUIA» by Cristóbal de Morales (d. 1553AD)

REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice await you at #3982.

This Alleluia can also be used in the Ordinary Form—as explained. You could write your own Alleluia or grab one from a billion different plainsong sources. (Archbishop Bugnini’s Consilium had tried to eliminate from the Ordinary Form all foreign words—Amen, Alleluia, Hosanna, and so forth—but the Sacred Congregation of Rites was able to prevent that. So the OF still contains a few foreign words.) The Graduale Simplex (pdf) has some nice ones:

3962 ALLELUIA

A brief word about polyphonic Alleluia #3982: Francisco Guerrero (d. 1599) studied under Fr. Morales, and we often see his traits. For example, Guerrero loved to add variety to his works. The first section might begin with Sopranos, then Altos, then Bass, then Tenors. The next section might be revered: starting with Bass, then Tenors, then Altos, then finally Sopranos. Or he may begin each point of imitation with a different voice.

Fr. Morales often does the same thing in Alleluia #3982—and it’s truly marvelous.

Consider the .WAV files from my Rehearsal video:

3964 ProTools


The sheet music illustrates this even better.

(But the .WAV files are kind of cool.)



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Other examples include #7503 and #3524 and #4470 and #5050.

This Alleluia comes from a Mass by Fr. Morales (Benedicta es Caelorum Regina) based on a motet by Fr. Jean Mouton (d. 1522), who was also a Catholic priest.

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Victoria not only made his professional debut as church organist: he also continued active on the organ bench until the very eve of his death. Indeed, during his last seven years at Madrid (1604-1611) he occupied no other musical post but that of convent organist.”

— Dr. Robert Stevenson (1961)

Recent Posts

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  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?

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