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Views from the Choir Loft

New Discovery in Canada

Andrew Leung · August 23, 2018

URING MY TRIP IN CANADA a month ago, I was very fortunate to have met some new musician friends. I was put in touch with a few music professors at the University of Toronto and was able to meet one of them in person. During our chat, we discussed about the situation of the local church music in Canada and in Hong Kong, which I have shared in a few posts before (HERE, HERE and HERE). I was introduced to some of the choral works by contemporary composers in Canada, and one of them is Stephanie Martin.



TEPHANIE MARTIN is an associate professor of music at York University and the director of Schola Magdalena (a women’s ensemble for chant, medieval and modern polyphony). She was the music director of the historic church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Toronto, where the famous Canadian composer Healey Willan had also held the very same position. And coincidentally, both Willan’s and Martin’s music are available for sale on Biretta Books.

Martin is a composer proficient in composing both instrumental and choral music. A lot of her choral works are composed based on religious texts. Personally, I found her composition style, a mix of chant, polyphony and modern harmonies, very beautiful and uplifting. And I would say that her sacred works are quite appropriate for liturgical use. Here is one of her compositions modeled after chant and polyphony: Kyrie from Missa Chicagoensis sung at St. John Cantius, Chicago.



If you are interested in her works, you can find out more on her website and you can also look up her works on YouTube. One of the many interesting videos I found is this interview where she talks about her setting of Sicut Cervus and how it was inspired by Palestrina, Debussy and Duruflé.

On a different note, the campus of the University of Toronto is gorgeous! Here are some pictures I took during my visit. I think many of our readers would appreciate these very classy halls and chapels.

CTL University of Toronto 1 CTL University of Toronto 2 CTL University of Toronto 3 CTL University of Toronto 4 CTL University of Toronto 5 CTL University of Toronto 6 CTL University of Toronto 7 CTL University of Toronto 8 CTL University of Toronto 9
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 Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

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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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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