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Views from the Choir Loft

Advent Piece for 2 Voices

Jeff Ostrowski · December 11, 2017

ICHAEL Praetorius (d. 1621) was a German organist and composer. A female high school sophomore—from St. Monica Academy—sent me a video she produced:

The young lady wrote:

HIS PAST JUNE, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the FSSP.la Sacred Music Symposium. I want to take the time to thank you for the morning lecture series you gave on creating multi-track recordings. In hopes of promoting correct liturgical music and preserving the Catholic traditions of Advent, I, together with my college-age sister, selected four Advent pieces for an Advent caroling party hosted by our family. One of the pieces, the obscure two-voice Praetorius hymn “Vergente mundi vespere,” was quite difficult to find rehearsal resources for. The public-domain PDF file took my sister quite a bit of research to find, and I could find no recordings of the hymn being sung. As such, I resolved to create my own rehearsal video, armed with the knowledge I gained from your classes at the Symposium.

I now understand how much work it is to record and produce such a video! The short piece, under a minute in length, took me many hours to sightread and record correctly. It is nowhere near perfect, but I am pleased with the result—one that would definitely never have been attained were it not for your expert guidance during the Symposium in the ways of creating multi-track recordings!

Thank you for your tireless work in promoting beautiful sacred music and preserving our Catholic culture.

This bright young lady, whose writing is every bit as excellent as her singing, makes reference to a special music conference hosted each year by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in Los Angeles [FSSP.la].

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

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
Sound Familiar?

1 June 1579: “The chapter passes a rule that anyone ascending to the new organ without official permission shall be fined a month’s pay.”

26 October 1579: “The altar boys remain always separate and distinct from choirboys—the one group learning only plainchant and assisting at the altar, the other living with the chapel-master and studying counterpoint and polyphony as well. Father Francisco Guerrero postpones his departure for Rome and instead spends the entire year in Seville making ready for the trip. In the meantime he neglects his choirboys. On 16 November, after considerable complaint against their unruliness and ignorance, he engages an assistant, Bartolomé Farfán.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Using the shoddiest, sleaziest material we have for the purpose of glorifying God is not very sound theology or even very good common sense. […] (In general, when you see a diminished seventh chord in a hymn, run.) And these chords are usually used in bad hymns in precisely the same order in which they occur in “Sweet Adeline.”

— Paul Hume (1956)

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