Views from the Choir Loft

Brébeuf Harmony Edition • “Splendid Beyond Words”

Jeff Ostrowski · April 9, 2019

UR DIVINE MASTER, Jesus Christ, said: “A woman in labor hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but the child being born, she remembers no more the anguish…” Nobody has been more eager for the Brébeuf Harmony Edition to appear than me; and I’ve been waiting five long years. But I was told today it is supposed to be available for purchase very soon—that is to say, within a few days.

Folks, I have seen a copy: IT. IS. FABULOUS.

I sat down at the organ and could not stop playing through it. I just couldn’t stop! I played through each hymn, singing all the verses to myself. The harmonizations are phenomenal. Since 2013, I’ve looked at probably 20,000 pages of hymn harmonizations—but I’ve never seen anything like the Brébeuf harmonies. They are simple, yet elegant. More importantly, they are within the range of singers! To be honest, there were some tunes I wasn’t 100% convinced of before; but when I hear them with the Brébeuf harmonies, I am blown away…and now I would die for these melodies. Yes, folks, they are that epic.

AS SOMEONE WHO CONTRIBUTED SEVERAL ORIGINAL HARMONIES TO THIS BOOK, I WILL BE NOTIFIED THE INSTANT IT BECOMES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW IMMEDIATELY.

Here is a sample:

* * PDF Download • Unauthorized Preview

There is a harmony for every single hymn! …and the Brébeuf Hymnal is 932 pages!

The harmony edition doesn’t make any sense without the Pew Hymnal. It is complementary. However, you will be hearing a lot more about this—and you will love it. It was designed to work with parishes; it is “practical” to a fault. More later.

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84999-Brebeuf-Accompaniment-B

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I’m told they still need a few proofreaders to look over 1-2 sections one final time. If you’re interested, send an email to: liturgical.institute@gmail.com.

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

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?

This year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June 2025) falls on a Sunday. It’s not necessary to be an eminent Latin scholar to be horrified by examples like this, which have been in place since 1970. For the last 55 years, anyone who’s attempted to correct such errors has been threatened with legal action. It is simply unbelievable that the (mandatory) texts of the Holy Mass began being sold for a profit in the 1970s. How much longer will this gruesome situation last?

—Jeff Ostrowski

Is the USCCB trolling us?

I realize I’m going to come across as a “Negative Nancy” … but I can’t help myself. This kind of stuff is beyond ridiculous. There are already way too many options in the MISSALE RECENS. Adding more will simply confuse the faithful even more. We seriously need to band together and start creating a “REFORM OF THE REFORM” Missale Romanum so it will be ready when the time comes.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Common” Responsorial Psalm?

I try to avoid arguing about liturgical legislation (even with Catholic priests) because it seems like many folks hold certain views—and nothing will persuade them to believe differently. You can show them 100 church documents, but it matters not. They won’t budge. Sometimes I’m confronted by people who insist that “there’s no such thing” as a COMMON RESPONSORIAL PSALM. When that happens, I show them a copy of the official legislation in Latin. I have occasionally prevailed by means of this method.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962

There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop

—Veronica Brandt

The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum

Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.

—Daniel Tucker