• 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)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Repeating Repertoire? • Patrick Torsell

Patrick Torsell · April 2, 2020

I confess to being a bit of a pragmatist when it comes to such questions as: “to repeat, or not to repeat?” My esteemed fellow bloggers will assuredly probe the philosophical depths of the question. For my part, I shall keep it short, sweet, and practical.

The Church’s patrimony of sacred music is so rich, so replete with material for most any occasion, that it seems on the surface we ought not need to repeat. But there are good reasons to repeat repertoire tastefully. Here are a few circumstances that, to my estimation, justify repetition:

1) When learning and reinforcing new repertoire. After all, repetitio mater studiorum!

2) When resources are limited (e.g. not enough time to adequately prepare new repertoire for the choir or organist; or if you are confined to working with limited acceptable choices in your parish hymnal; or if all your sopranos call in sick so you have to repeat a recent ATB selection; etc.)

3) When the piece in question is so beautiful, so remarkable, and so utterly capable of raising hearts and minds to God, AND your group executes the piece particularly well. As long as they aren’t overdone, some pieces never seem to get old for either singers or congregation, and the sense of peaceful familiarity they communicate can be a very powerful thing.

In our parish we have a few favorites that do see more repetition than others. A few hymns that tend to make the repetition list include Faith Of Our Fathers, Come Down O Love Divine, O God Almighty Father, and When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (Rockingham). Motets that our choir sings well and repeats when appropriate are DuFay’s Ave Maris Stella; Victoria’s Pange Lingua (More Hispano), O Vos Omnes, Ne Timeas Maria, and O Magnum Mysterium; and Hassler’s Dixit Maria. And at the organ console for postludes, I find myself coming back to the Finale from Widor’s 4th, the Dubois Toccata in G Major, Bach’s Gigue Fugue, and–purely because the congregation (and especially my chorister students) love it so much, despite my getting tired of it–the ubiquitous Toccata from Widor’s 5th Symphony.

It is important to note once more that the legitimate reasons to repeat are by no means an excuse to avoid the efforts of searching and learning new repertoire, whether chant, hymnody, motets, or organ literature. As I mentioned, we have such an incredible store of music for every liturgical occasion it’s almost mind-boggling! We do well to thoughtfully vary our music throughout the year in our hymns, our choir’s motets, and our organ selections. And yet, repetition is not only sometimes acceptable, it’s sometimes opportune for the quality execution of beautiful music in the service of the Liturgy. Even the chant propers themselves repeat from time to time, if not always in word, at least in theme and melodic motif.

Indeed, I, for one, choose to eschew the “never repeat” notion, and rather enjoy a thoughtful, well-planned repetition from time to time. The repertoire we employ is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an end, namely: the glorification of God and the edification of the faithful, in the context and within the well ordered confines of the Liturgy. If tasteful repetition serves that end, then by all means ||: repeat :||

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

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: April 2, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Patrick Torsell

About Patrick Torsell

Patrick Torsell is the Director of Music and Organist at Mater Dei Latin Mass Community in Harrisburg, PA.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

20 January 2021 • REMINDER

We have no savings, no endowment, and no major donors. You can help us (please) by subscribing to our mailing list. It’s incredibly easy; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address. Thank you!

—Jeff Ostrowski
19 January 2021 • Confusion over feasts

For several months, we have discussed the complicated history of the various Christmas feasts: the Baptism of the Lord, the feast of the Holy Family, the Epiphany, and so forth. During a discussion, someone questioned my assertion that in some places Christmas had been part of the Epiphany. As time went on, of course, the Epiphany came to represent only three “manifestations” (Magi, Cana, Baptism), but this is not something rigid. For example, if you look at this “Capital E” from the feast of the Epiphany circa 1350AD, you can see it portrays not three mysteries but four—including PHAGIPHANIA when Our Lord fed the 5,000. In any event, anyone who wants proof the Epiphany used to include Christmas can read this passage from Dom Prosper Guéranger.

—Jeff Ostrowski
6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“To treat harmony and rhythm in this matter was a difficult matter. Facing numerous problems both large and small—that arose constantly—we understood that a flawless harmonization of Gregorian chant cannot be created by improvisation, no matter the competence and ability of the organist or harmonist.”

— ‘Mons. Jules Van Nuffel, NOH Preface’

Recent Posts

  • Glaring Omission from Post-Vatican II Lectionary
  • 20 January 2021 • REMINDER
  • (Ladies Singing Low) • “Adding Fifths Above”
  • 19 January 2021 • Confusion over feasts
  • PDF Download • “Mass Propers For Sundays And Holydays Set To Simple Melodies” (429 pages)

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier 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.