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Views from the Choir Loft

Brébeuf Hymnal • “Behind the Scenes”

Jeff Ostrowski · July 22, 2018

4713 • HYMNAL COVER • The St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal HAT HAS GARNERED attention for the Brébeuf Hymnal has been our inclusion of contemporary material by distinguished composers and poets. Many hymns were commissioned specifically for the Brébeuf Hymnal.

But the Brébeuf Hymnal has so much more.

For example, this book contains ancient English hymn translations never before revealed. 1 For obvious reasons, the committee does not want the research tables released—but I have obtained permission to share a brief example with you:

    * *  PDF • EXAMPLE of a “Research Chart”

Notice how the Roman Catholic translation from 1598AD closely matches the literal translation:

88163 Brebeuf Hymnal SNEAK PEEK


Creating a metrical translation like that—which was designed to be sung to the same plainsong melody as the Latin version—is incredibly difficult. I will provide more information about the brave Catholic who created that translation another day.

Very soon, the Brébeuf Hymnal will be sent off for final proofreading. The work of half a decade—finally!—has entered the final stages of production.  Laus Deo!



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Much of what we’ve discovered cannot be placed in the book because there simply isn’t enough room. This is rather frustrating, because the research tables with which I was involved required hours of painstaking work to create. However, at the end of the day, we only included that which was the most excellent—nothing but the very best.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Jean de Brebeuf Hymnal 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

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Those who teach Latin must know how to speak to the hearts of the young, know how to treasure the very rich heritage of the Latin tradition to educate them in the path of life, and accompany them along paths rich in hope and confidence.”

— Pope Francis (7 December 2017)

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