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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Creator Alme Siderum” with Organ Accompaniment

Jeff Ostrowski · December 23, 2020

S MOST OF OUR READERS KNOW, I have made an extensive study of the ancient Roman Catholic hymns which refer to “Christ as Creator.” A prominent example of this would be CONDITOR ALME SIDERUM, which was called “Creator Alme Siderum” after 1631AD. Why was the name changed? Well, it’s a long and fascinating story—involving Pope Urban VIII and the Jesuits—and I would encourage you to pick up a copy of the Brébeuf hymnal, currently being sold exclusively by Sophia Institute Press. Inside that book, the complete history of the “Urbanite Revision” is provided, along with beautiful full-color images.

Writing a review for the “Antiphon” liturgical journal, Dr. Aaron James had effusive praise for the way in which the editors of the Brébeuf Hymnal treated the Urbanite hymn reform. (That’s why I encourage you to obtain a copy.) But since Advent is almost over, I wanted to post a few score of CREATOR ALME SIDERUM you might want to download for next year:

*  PDF Download • ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT
—2015 Organ accompaniment by Jeff Ostrowski.

*  PDF Download • (1st Singer Score)
—This version has an English translation by Father Edward Caswall (d. 1878).

*  PDF Download • (2nd Singer Score)
—This version has an English translation by Father Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923).

A lady named Eleanor Parker runs quite a fantastic blog called “A Clerk of Oxford.” Similar to the Brébeuf hymnal, she has provided color images of ancient (Roman Catholic) vernacular translations for CREATOR ALME SIDERUM—except that the Brébeuf translations are in English, whereas Eleanor’s translations are in Anglo-Saxon:

*  Eleanor Parker’s Blog • “Creator Alme Siderum”

The images she provides are truly spectacular:

Covid-19 has created insane difficulties, and our current choir situation is exasperating due to all the restrictions. We have small groups of singers, mainly people from the same family because the government counts people in the same family as “one unit.” I used an iPhone to record one of the groups singing CREATOR ALME SIDERUM, but the iPhone corrupted the choral sound resulting in a recording that doesn’t do justice to how beautiful they sounded in real life. In any event, we have several groups that sing at several Masses, and I often use higher or lower tessitura depending upon the voices. The Organ Accompaniment for the Edmund Campion Missal has come in quite handy:

*  Accompaniment • Kyriale in Three Keys (388 pages)
—Ordinary of the Mass: High Key, Middle Key, and Lower Key.

“Volume 1” is what you want. The accompaniments are by Achille P. Bragers (LOW KEY), Father Carlo Rossini (MIDDLE KEY), and the Nova Organi Harmonia (HIGH KEY).

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Dr Aaron James Last Updated: December 23, 2020

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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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    William Byrd • Simple “Agnus Dei” Canon
    Time flies! Back in July, I posted a PDF setting of a perfect canon by William Byrd (d. 1623) arranged as an AGNUS DEI for three voices. Last Sunday, we sang that arrangement with our volunteer choir. To hear a ‘live’ recording of it, click here (Mp3). In my humble opinion, this would be a perfect piece for a choir just beginning to experiment with polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

No concession should ever be made for the singing of the Exsultet, in whole or in part, in the vernacular.

— ‘Fr. Augustin Bea, S.J. in the years immediately before the Second Vatican Council’

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