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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • A “Bright” Eucharistic Hymn

Jeff Ostrowski · May 1, 2018

LEASE ALLOW ME TO CLEAR UP a misconception about the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (forthcoming), which is being produced by an international team of Catholics, including priests and laymen. It is certainly true that the JP2 Institute has commissioned new tunes and new texts for this book—and they’re magnificent. However, the majority of the book consists of traditional tunes and texts. An example would be the following German melody, which is featured prominently.

The Brébeuf hymnal contains several fabulous English translations of this hymn—but I would like to demonstrate that it can also be sung in Latin:

REHEARSAL VIDEOS for each individual voice and PDF score await you at #89325.

Many readers won’t click on that link (#89325)—thereby depriving themselves of the PDF score: all eight pages! This breaks my heart.

Other readers will avoid clicking that link (#89325)—and consequently miss the opportunity to sing along with the individual voice parts, which are extremely fun. This makes me sad.

HE SAINT Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal discriminated based on the excellence of hymn melodies and hymn texts. To be honest, we were not totally sure a book could be produced with the high standards we adopted, but it turns out it can! The biggest obstacle we currently face is whether to include the Spanish hymns we’ve prepared, because we don’t want the book to be too heavy. After all, there is something pleasant about holding a book that’s just the right size. By the way, here is a recording of this hymn by the Vatican (using the plainsong melody). I consider the organ accompaniment very nice.

In a few weeks, final proofreading will commence. Those interested in proofreading the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal should email the committee. My understanding is they’re searching for proofreaders. Make sure the word “proofreader” is in your email’s subject line.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download 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

The effectiveness of liturgy does not lie in experimenting with rites and altering them over and over, nor in a continuous reductionism, but solely in entering more deeply into the word of God and the mystery being celebrated. It is the presence of these two that authenticates the Church’s rites, not what some priest decides, indulging his own preferences.

— Liturgicae Instaurationes (1970)

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