Views from the Choir Loft

“I’m hanging on every word.”—Catholic Organist Group

Jeff Ostrowski · February 7, 2020

Y friend, Mæstro Clark, sent me a screenshot from a discussion on the “Catholic Organist Group.” Look what one participant wrote about the Brébeuf hymnal:

I’ve never encountered
such a prolific and astoundingly
interesting hymnal, that
includes researched and
annotated writings as
the Brébeuf hymnal.

I just read it for an hour and
I’ve barely scratched the surface.
I’m hanging on every word.

It is just as much a lesson
in theology, Christian tradition,
the history of sacred hymnody,
and inspiring Christian bio-epic
of the North American martyrs
as it is a hymnal. It could easily
stand as a primary text
to a course, and is almost
overkill as a pew aid.

Further comments are here:

* PDF Download • Read the Entire Thread
—“Catholic Organist Group” screenshot on 7 February 2020.

Last night during rehearsal, I opened up the Brébeuf pew book and was almost moved to tears. The typesetting, the drop caps, the intricate details…wonderful stuff:

I’m beyond thrilled that we are able to sing the beautiful hymn for Septuagesima (“Rebus Creatis Nil Egens”) during Septuagesima. How cool is that? The Brébeuf hymnal is the only hymn book which provides settings for it in English, to say nothing of the gorgeous literal translation by an FSSP priest.

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski

15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski