Views from the Choir Loft

“Meet Me In St. Louis”

Lucas Tappan · November 21, 2017 ·

HILE THE SUMMERS IN ST. LOUIS might be insufferable, the autumn weather often proves a treat. The colorful foliage and city skyline set against the Arch and the river delight the eye, although nothing so much as the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Perhaps I am biased, (having spent part of my youth in its shadow, if 30 miles is close enough to be considered “in the shadow”), but I consider this church the most beautiful Catholic edifice in these United States and am always happy to return. A few weeks ago I was able to make the pilgrimage again, only this time with a choir in tow, and thanks to the hospitality of the ever convivial Dr. Buchholz, our Schola Cantorum had a marvelous time.

Jeff O. recently asked if directors take pictures of their choirs and I can’t say that I do, but thankfully others did and one parent even recorded several pieces with his iPhone. I thought I would share those with you today and I hope you enjoy!

* * Exultate Deo • A. Scarlatti (1660-1725)

* * Ave Maria • C. Wulke (b. 1989)

* * Te Deum in C • C. V. Stanford (1852-1924)

* * Postlude in D minor (Op. 105, no. 6) • C. V. Stanford (1852-1924)

(Played by John Deahl, my assistant)

About Lucas Tappan

Dr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four children.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski