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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Easy Organ Interludes” (229 pages)

Veronica Brandt · December 1, 2018

REAT ORGANISTS are few and far between. Many people are pressed into service as organists with little by way of training. Most advice centers around accompanying hymns, which is very valuable, but there are times when the organ needs to fill time without causing the more conscientious of the congregation to reach for their hymnals. The Nova Organi Harmonia volumes are a great resource. When playing for a Sunday Extraordinary Form Mass I often play through the Asperges antiphon as an entrance. Many of the pieces can be played as organ interludes, but they are rather designed to accompany chant. Here’s a tip: instead of searching for “music for organ without pedals,” try searching for “music for Harmonium.” That’s how I came across the collection Orgelschatz, edited by J. A. Troppmann, which was sort of what I was looking for, and yet, not quite right—until I tried the seventh piece! This was credited to G. B. Fasolo from AD 1645.

Searching further yielded this work:

* *  PDF Download • (AD 1645) Easy Organ Interludes (229 pages)

…They are shared thanks to a “Creative Commons” license, as you can see here. Yes, that’s right: 229 pages of renaissance liturgical organ for manuals! And here are just the hymns:

* *  PDF Download • (AD 1645) Just the hymns (63 pages)

SCOURING THE PAGES, I find the piece that sparked my interest is the first verse of Proles de caelo prodiit—a hymn from the feast of St Francis of Assisi on page 55 of Pierre Gouin’s edition. The composer is a Franciscan priest, so it makes sense that this piece would be especially beautiful. LISTEN HERE.

Another piece is the second verse of Jesu Corona Virginum on page 52. LISTEN HERE.

One more sample from page 67. The book has verses from the Gloria for Missa Orbis Factor. I found the part entitled Cum sancto was quite smooth and easier—though I can still hear where I need more polish! LISTEN HERE.

Lastly, here’s a video of my set up for practising these pieces, this time with the Agnus Dei from Missa Cunctipotens Deus on page 91:

* *  Watch me on Instagram

Making recordings of yourself is a great way to get feedback as well as generating the nervous energy to simulate playing in public. I still have a long way to go, but I’m very happy to have found this book. I’m all ears for any further tips!

UPDATE: a printed version is available here with the permission of the publisher, Pierre Gouin of Les Éditions Outremontaises, Montreal. He has typed up an amazing amount of beautiful music and continues to update the scores.

85977 organist

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

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Catholic Organ Interludes, Free Organ Preludes, organ, Views From The Organ Bench Last Updated: September 23, 2022

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 21st Sunday Ordin. Time
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) which is coming up on 24 August 2025. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. It’s set in a melancholy mode, but if you heard my choir’s female voices singing it your soul would be uplifted beyond belief. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“The Church, which so long had preserved Latin consciously as a bond of unity, had quite suddenly decided to discard it as a useless encumbrance. With this rejection, and as an almost inevitable consequence, went out the window also the whole magnificent musical heritage of the Church. For when you change your language you also change your song. The Jewish exiles hanging their harps beside the waters of Babylon, so long ago, made that discovery.”

— Most Rev’d Robert J. Dwyer, Archbishop of Portland (26 October 1973)

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