Views from the Choir Loft

Allowed or Forbidden? • Parallel Fourths in Renaissance Polyphony

Jeff Ostrowski · August 6, 2020

HOSE WHO CLICK on #79075 will find marvelous items. The first is a special “Mode 7” version of the MAGNIFICAT combining versions from Father Guerrero, Father Morales, and Palestrina. (All are seventh mode, so they mix together well.) The score helps singers understand that the Mode 7 plainsong appears in each voice elongated (“in augmentation”) depending upon the movement. (In the live recording below, the final movement is omitted). Not only that, but rehearsal videos for each individual voice are provided at #79075. On top of all that, two (2) YouTube videos containing a discussion about this marvelous “Guerrero+” composition are linked to.

Before Covid-19 hit, our choir was learning this Magnificat. Here’s a recording made during one of our rehearsals:

Disclaimer: The microphones cannot capture the true beauty of choral singing, just as a Postcard cannot capture the true beauty of a sunset.

In the section by Father Cristóbal de Morales, we find parallel fourths. (The same exact thing happens in measures 29-30.) See for yourself:

But are parallel fourths allowed in Renaissance polyphony?

The student of Father Morales was Father Guerrero (who turned out to be an even greater composer than his teacher). In Missa Beata Mater, Father Guerrero uses parallel fourths:

Please let me know your thoughts about parallel fourths in the Facebook combox. Thanks!

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

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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).

Pipe Organ “Answers” in Plainsong?

In 2003, I copied a book by Félix Bélédin (d. 1895), who was titular organist—from 1841 to 1874—at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Lyon (France). In 2008, we scanned and uploaded the book to the Lalande Online Library. Nobody knows for sure when the book was published; some believe it first appeared in the 1840s. In any event, one who examines this excerpt, showing GLORIA IX might wonder why it says the organ answers in plainsong. However, the front of the book explains, telling the organist explicitly when to “respond in plainchant.” This is something called organ alternatim. Believe it or not, the pipe organ would take turns with the choir, playing certain texts instrumentally instead of having them sung. I’m not very well-versed in this—pardon the pun—but if memory serves, ORGAN ALTERNATIM was frowned upon by the time of Pope Saint Pius X. Nevertheless, French organists kept doing it, even after it was explicitly condemned as an abuse.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (5th Sunday of Lent)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 5th Sunday of Lent (22 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Traditionally, this Sunday was called ‘Passion’ Sunday. Starting in 1956, certain church leaders attempted rename both ‘Passion’ Sunday and ‘Palm’ Sunday—but it didn’t work. For example, Monsignor Frederick McManus tried to get people to call PALM SUNDAY “Second Passion Sunday”—but the faithful rejected that. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (Holy Thursday, 2026)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Holy Thursday, which is 2 April 2026. If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a more piercingly beautiful INTROIT, and I have come to absolutely love the SATB version of ‘Ubi cáritas’ we are singing (joined by our burgeoning children’s choir). I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!

—Jeff Ostrowski

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 Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”

For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.

—Jeff Ostrowski