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Views from the Choir Loft

“ Dissonance? ” • Gregorian Accompaniment

Jeff Ostrowski · April 5, 2018

HOSE WHO ACCOMPANY Gregorian melodies on the organ must have a sensitive ear and understand where to place dissonance. A common misconception goes something like this: “I don’t want dissonance in my accompaniments, so I don’t change chords very often.” Nothing could be further from the truth!  Organists who change chords infrequently (and lack familiarity with voice-leading techniques) create horrific dissonance without realizing it.

Warning!  Warning!  Musician about to express opinions—Proceed with caution and coffee.

Consider the following example by Henri Potiron. Are your ears sensitive enough to hear the ill-considered (in my humble opinion) dissonances Potiron created highlighted in pink? The third “pink” is especially egregious:

89619 • HENRI POTIRON


The areas highlighted in yellow are also ill-conceived (in my humble opinion), and expose open chords and ugly fourths. In general, Potiron loiters on chords too long, then abruptly moves to another chord with motion in all the voices—and that’s not cool. In too many places he misses opportunities to help keep the melody flowing. The way all voices move in the same direction at the beginning of “amícti” is faulty, and the 6/4 chord for “Amen” is bizarre, forbidden, and lazy. It’s as if Potiron fell asleep at the wheel.

Finally, the voice-leading would be less jagged if he moved to D quicker on “Príncipi” (cf. suggested note in red ink).

This book in question, 1948 Daily Hymnal, has an IMPRIMATUR from the Archbishop of Westminster, and uses accompaniments by Potiron exclusively (if memory serves). Monsieur Henri Potiron was—as many readers know—the most famous exponent of the “Solesmes” method of Gregorian accompaniment. His title was Maître de Chapelle de la Basilique du Sacré Cœur et Professeur a l’Institut Grégorien.

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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Jeff Ostrowski

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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Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Gerard Manley Hopkins once argued that most people drank more liquids than they really needed and bet that he could go without drinking for a week. He persisted until his tongue was black and he collapsed at drill.”

— A biography of Fr. Gerard M. Hopkins (d. 1889)

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