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Views from the Choir Loft

Brébeuf Hymn #517 • “Veni Redemptor Gentium”

Jeff Ostrowski · July 24, 2019

In the Brébeuf Hymnal, the famous Advent text “Veni Redemptor Gentium” is used with several melodies. Here is an example, recorded by a young lady in 8th grade:

You can hear the individual tracks if you visit the Brébeuf website and scroll to #517.

“O Heiland Reiss” is a famous Advent melody—and the Brébeuf Hymnal uses that melody with several different texts, including an English translation of “O Heiland Reiss” by an FSSP priest. Catholic hymnals often use this melody with various texts, and here are several examples:

    * *  O Heiland reiss die Himmel auf • Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959)

    * *  O Heiland reiss die Himmel auf • Catholic Hymnal (1957)

    * *  O Heiland reiss die Himmel auf • Catholic Hymnal (1936)

    * *  O Heiland reiss die Himmel auf • Catholic Hymnal (1910)

    * *  O Heiland reiss die Himmel auf • Catholic Hymnal (1885)

    * *  O Heiland reiss die Himmel auf • Catholic Hymnal (1989)

(“O Heiland Reiss” is the tune you hear in the video above.)

Over the next few months, we hope to explain why such flexibility—of texts and tunes—is crucial.

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

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Soloists are dangerous in any church choir! Their voices frequently do not blend with those of the other singers to form a rich, integrated tone.

— Roger Wagner

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