• 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)

  • About
  • Symposium
  • Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

“Agincourt” • Do You Know This Hymn?

Jeff Ostrowski · December 17, 2019

VERY ORGANIST AND CHOIRMASTER at one point or another has fallen in love with the English hymn tune “Agincourt” (a.k.a. “Deo Gracias”). It was featured in Henry V, a 1944 movie by Sir Laurence Olivier. The Brébeuf harmonies for this piece remind me why I love this book so much—a truly masterful SATB harmonization: original, fresh, yet within reach. I especially love how the Bass Line walks in stepwise motion…sometimes a whole octave!  If you follow the link below (#536) and click “Bass,” you can see what I mean.

The Tenor line is quite challenging to sing correctly:

Important Notice:

You can hear individual voice tracks if you visit the Brébeuf website; scroll to #536.

HEN I WAS AT THE CONSERVATORY, I had to memorize difficult works by Chopin, Mozart, Bach, Prokofiev, Schumann, and others. Yet, I was nothing compared to some of the students there. Indeed, I would not have dared attempt certain pieces, such as Liszt’s Feux Follets, or Chopin’s Op. 26 No. 6 Etude. Often, I would discuss interpretations with the other students. One girl from China—I can’t recall her name, but she was excellent—had studied with Ruth Slenczynska. I was discussing certain ideas I had about Chopin’s Ballade in Ab Major, and I insisted my interpretation was the correct one. Then she made a comment that haunts me to this day: “Jeff, having ideas is one thing; executing them is something else.”

On the one hand, it is good to have dreams and aspirations. On the other hand, we must face reality. AGINCOURT is a good example. A choirmaster quickly learns this is not an easy piece to sing well with a congregation. Therefore, it must be approached with caution. We may desire to do this piece. We may desire it greatly. Yet, we must never fail to ask: “How did it sound? Did it work?”  By the way, here’s how AGINCOURT looked in the 1936 “English Hymnal,” edited by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958), a student of Maurice Ravel (d. 1937):

80574 AGINCOURT HYMN (1906)


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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

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

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“…it would be a very praiseworthy thing and the correction would be so easy to make that one could accommodate the chant by gradual changes; and through this it would not lose its original form, since it is only through the binding together of many notes put under short syllables that they become long without any good purpose when it would be sufficient to give one note only.”

— Zarlino (1558) anticipating the Medicæa

Recent Posts

  • “Chant Rhythm Wars” • Dueling Lectures!
  • “I Decided to Get a Plane Ticket and Fly 8,700 Miles From Singapore to Take Part.”
  • Alabama Assessment!
  • “How Has Nobody Done This Before?” • Vol. 1
  • “Exceeded Every Expectation!” • Mr. O’Brien’s Review

Copyright © 2022 Corpus Christi Watershed · Gabriel Lalemant 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.