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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 • A Eucharistic Piece My Choir Loves

Jeff Ostrowski · November 8, 2019

80854 Brébeuf Hymnal ODAY, I am going to make news. For months, I have been assisting in proofreading the Choral Supplement to the Brébeuf Hymnal. Folks, a choirmaster’s life will never be the same once this book is released. It’s about 1,100 pages, and totally magnificent: unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We all know Catholic music is a mess right now, but this publication—in my humble opinion—will go a long way towards fixing things!

What Is The Purpose?

Put simply, the Choral Supplement provides SATB settings for the hymns in the Brébeuf Pew edition. For many reasons, we encourage choirmasters to emphasize “German style” in parishes: Unison + Organ. But there can be certain moments when SATB singing is desired, and that’s why this book was created. 1

Here is a sample score:

    * *  PDF Download • EARLY RELEASE SAMPLE (Choral Supplement)

My choirs love to sing “Sancti Venite” from the Brébeuf Hymnal. We usually sing Unison + Organ, alternating between ladies and men—and it works extremely well. But the 9:00am choir really wanted to try SATB. A member of the Tenor section sent me an iPhone recording:

When you listen, please remember that this choir is 100% volunteers, and very few members read music. The more we sing it, the better it will get.


You can rehearse each individual part at the Brébeuf website. I wish more people would go explore the rehearsal videos; but nobody ever does. I’m not sure why this is…they are so much fun!  Anyhow, the JP2 Institute has requested that no more rehearsal videos be posted until the Choral Supplement has been released—so be prepared for a whole bunch more videos soon!

When Is The Release Date?

The Choral Supplement is expected to be released on 8 December 2019, a date which had special meaning for Saint Jean de Brébeuf and his companions. One reason it took so long is the beautiful formatting. Do you see the difference between “standard” formatting by a program such as Sibelius?

80858-why-we-format-yellow-sm


This book is a supplement.

In other words, the Choral Supplement only makes sense used in conjunction with the Pew Edition. All the literal translations, color pages, footnotes, etc. are found in the Pew Edition.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   To say nothing of descants, alternatim between genders, organ interludes, and so on.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Oldest Latin Eucharistic Hymn, Sancti Venite Eucharistic Last Updated: May 3, 2021

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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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ with regard to 1960s switch to vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th 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 alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.

— Pope Benedict XVI, Letter accompanying “Summorum Pontificum” (7/7/07)

Recent Posts

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  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
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