Views from the Choir Loft

HYMN • “Vexilla Regis” (SATB setting in English)

Jeff Ostrowski · March 27, 2020

ATHER Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923) called Vexilla Regis Prodeunt “perhaps the greatest of all hymns.” I must confess that I’m slightly taken aback by his praise, because—in a particular sense—this hymn is a bit of a hodgepodge. That is to say, the original version was an altered version of Bishop Fortunatus. (Father John Connelly provides the missing verses in his volume on the Breviary hymns.) Then, Pope Urban VIII made the situation even more confused, as you can see if you scroll down to the bottom of this page and read the excerpt from the Brébeuf hymnal, which contains annotations. Of course, it’s still a superb hymn, and the Brébeuf hymnal contains multiple musical settings and translations. If you have not read my February 6th article on this tune (“ALTONA”) I really hope you will:

* Article • “What Makes A Good Hymn?”
—Published 6 February by Jeff Ostrowski.

I am proud of that article, and it includes many examples. I don’t want to repeat all that stuff here, because that would be confusing. Today (27 March 2020) there has been a new addition to the collection of “English Hymns with rehearsal videos for each individual voice”—which is posted towards the middle of the Brébeuf website:

* Access free rehearsal videos for each individual voice by clicking on #546.

Here are two pages from the Brébeuf hymnal which give a literal English translation:

The Brébeuf hymnal contains abundant settings of Vexilla Regis Prodeunt. Some people have assaulted the book for this reason—but we consider it to be a very important hymn for the Catholic Church.

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Cantus Mariales” (192 pages)

Andrea Leal has posted an absolutely pristine scan of CANTUS MARIALES (192 pages) which can be downloaded as a PDF file. To access this treasure, navigate to the frabjous article Andrea posted Monday. The file is being offered completely free of charge. The beginning pages of the book have something not to be missed: viz. a letter from Pope Saint Pius X to Dom Pothier, in which the pope calls Abbat Pothier “a man versed above all others in the science of liturgy, and to whom the cause of Gregorian chant is greatly indebted.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (2nd Sunday of Lent)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 2nd Sunday of Lent (1 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has magnificent propers. Its somber INTROIT is particularly striking—using a haunting tonality—but the COMMUNION with its fauxbourdon verses is also quite remarkable. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Extreme Unction

Those who search Google for “CCCC MS 079” will discover high resolution images of a medieval Pontificale (“Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 079”). One of the pages contains this absolutely gorgeous depiction of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”

I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)

I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.

—Jeff Ostrowski