• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Magnificat” + Rehearsal Videos!

Jeff Ostrowski · June 4, 2019

ORE THAN ONE THING can be true at the same time. Certainly I have advocated very simple music for church; and the Brébeuf Hymnal is full of beautiful melodies that fit the bill. I have emphasized that Brébeuf makes it possible for a congregation to get through the entire liturgical year, even if they only know one solid tune. That’s because it provides a solution where common melodies can be shared with different texts. Just last Sunday I was using it with my choirs, and it literally saved my life. (I would stand on my head to make this point!)

At the same time—in conjunction with these simple hymns—I fully endorse “complicated” polyphony. At present, I direct more than fifty singers in two different choirs, and every singer learns polyphony. I, therefore, “put my money where my mouth is” in terms of complex polyphony. (We don’t sing it unless we’re prepared.)

I don’t know a greater piece of polyphony than this Magnificat by Guerrero, which will be sung at this year’s Sacred Music Symposium:

EQUAL VOICES : YouTube   •   Mp3 Labeled

SOPRANO : YouTube   •   Mp3 Labeled

1st ALTO : YouTube   •   Mp3 Labeled

2nd ALTO : YouTube   •   Mp3 Labeled

TENOR : YouTube   •   Mp3 Labeled

BASS : YouTube   •   Mp3 Labeled


Have you registered yet?

Only a few spots remain as of 4 June 2019.

Apply for Sacred Music Symposium 2019.

HOSE WHO READ this blog already know how difficult the life of a choirmaster is; I don’t need to repeat that. We have challenges that often seem insurmountable: physical challenges, musical challenges, psychological challenges, and so on. On a personal level, I struggle to communicate (what I consider to be) basic concepts to our readers. I talk so much about common melodies and how important they are for a Catholic choir—yet, I don’t think I’m articulating this concept well. I believe there is so much that could be accomplished, if we can all stick together; and part of sticking together is communication. A few days ago, I was thinking about how difficult it must have been to implement the document of Pope Pius X. After all, this was long before the invention of television, internet, xerox copy machines, and so forth. The airplane had just been invented; and it really was such a different time. Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by mistake. (The initial attempt failed, hitting people behind him; but when he went to the hospital to see how they were doing, he accidentally ran into the same assassin while sitting in traffic; and that’s how he was assassinated, which began the Great War.) The Great War ended up causing the Second Sino-Japanese War and also World War II—and 150 million people died as a result. Read about what it was like to fight in the trenches: bizarre and horrible! In those days, they wouldn’t give the wounded first aid. Instead, they would place wounded men on a train and transport them to a city which had a hospital, even if that city were far away. During the Great War they began to realize this was insane; so they started to have better medical stations on the actual battlefields. The United States ended up entering the Great War, but can you imagine? Can you imagine loading thousands of USA soldiers on a boat to take them to Europe so they could fight for countries they’d never visited? Again, this was all going on around the time of the Motu Proprio of Pius X. Yet, they had choirs back then, in spite of having virtually no technology at all. I guess if they could do it, we should “soldier on” as well…pardon the pun.

Finally: Why do I love Guerrero’s setting so much? It has to do with the fact that my parish sings Solemn Vespers every Sunday. I’ve fallen in love with Vespers, and this Mode 1 psalm tone is frequently used. What Guerrero does with it—in spite of all the other settings by other composers, such as Lassus (who wrote something like 200 Magnificat settings)—is truly remarkable. The entrance of the Alto at the beginning: Powerful. The way he uses contrasting themes—some ascending, some descending: brilliant! The way he will often have one voice just repeat the same notes while the others are going nuts: clever! The Alto canon at the end: not to be missed! In particular, what Guerrero does with this melody is beyond anything I could imagine; after all, it’s just a psalm tone, right? But it went into Guerrero’s brain and look what comes out! Truly marvelous. We will discuss all these things at Sacred Music Symposium 2019.

My friend Nancho sent me the original part books for this piece. Here’s how it looked in the 16th century (Verse 6, Fecit potentiam in brachio suo):

84328 Guerrero MSS


Do you see how Nancho (wisely) preserves the ligatures in his editions? Look at the section in yellow. That’s a ligature. By this time, it was done mainly through tradition—because different ways to form those notes were also available in the time of Guerrero. Still, it’s a nice reminder not to disaggregate that syllable! And it reminds us this comes directly from a psalm tone.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“If a pope were only ever applauded, he would have to ask himself whether or not he was doing things right.”

— Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (2016)

Recent Posts

  • Vespers for Easter Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
  • Hidden Gem: Ave Regina Caelorum (Steven Talley)
  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

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.