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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Hidden Gem: Salvum Fac Populum Tuum (Bruckner)

Keven Smith · January 18, 2021

’LL NEVER FORGET my first days at Curtis Institute of Music. It was a hot, muggy late August in Philadelphia. I was 18. My parents dropped me off at a studio apartment one block from school (Curtis provided no dorms at the time). I was alone in a big city where I knew only a handful of people.

One of the first things I did after I got settled was to drop into Curtis and look at the bulletin board. The orchestra manager had listed part assignments for our first rehearsal of the school year. I would be playing second-chair clarinet on Bruckner’s Fourth (“Romantic”) Symphony. It was a juicy assignment for a freshman, but I only got it because one of the upperclassmen was out of town. New woodwind players at Curtis are like “redshirt” freshmen on college football teams, participating in workouts and learning the plays but doing very little high-profile performing.

I had heard of the great Austrian composer Anton Bruckner, but I hadn’t played any of his works in youth or school orchestras. That first rehearsal exposed me to his sonic world. The large intervallic leaps. The splashes of harmonic color. The walls of big, brassy sound. And at a critical moment in the last movement, there was a brief solo for second clarinet, which in this case was to be played by a terrified freshman.

During my second year at Curtis, we played Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. By the time I graduated, I was a Bruckner fan. Little did I realize I would one day be conducting a choir capable of singing Bruckner’s many fine motets.

Prepare to Feel Your Knees Buckle

See below for attribution

Bruckner was a devout Catholic. Most choir directors are familiar with his Locus Iste, Vexilla Regis, and multiple settings of Ave Maria and Christus Factus Est. You may have also explored at least one of his eight versions of Tantum Ergo. My choir learned the B-flat setting for a special Mass at our diocesan cathedral because Bruckner’s motets sound as if they belong in a spacious building.

Chances are, you’ve never even heard of Bruckner’s Salvum Fac Populum Tuum. I probably stumbled across it while spending a lazy afternoon on Choral Public Domain Library.

The piece alternates passages of chant with falsobordone. Although it’s nominally in D minor, it travels through G minor and C major, punctuated by juicy chords at cadences. At the thrilling climax, the sopranos soar to a high G. For me, though, the highlight is the ending. After a brief contrapuntal section in C major, we suddenly modulate to Db major—in pianissimo. When we first sight-read through this piece a few years ago, I remember glancing at our bass section and watching two of our singers’ knees buckle when they heard that first chord in the new key.

Although you don’t see many choral settings of this exact text, you may recognize it as the ending of the Te Deum—especially if you pray Matins every day. Like any skilled choral composer, Bruckner brings the text to life so that you can never read it the same way again.

 

Insider Tips on Salvum Fac Populum Tuum

What I love about this piece:

  • It’s Bruckner.
  • It flows naturally for a choir like mine that makes its living on chant.
  • It presents a non-professional choir with a wide range of attainable challenges: chant, polyphony, a big high point, a stunning pianissimo ending.

A few tips:

  • Be careful not to let the chant drag. It’s syllabic, which sometimes encourages singers to place undue weight on each syllable.
  • Warm up your choir. I don’t mean for that to sound condescending; you probably do begin each rehearsal with a warmup. But you won’t want to skimp on warmups the day you’re singing this motet. Although I wouldn’t consider Bruckner to be “big-voice music” in the same way that, say, Pierre Villette’s motets are, I also don’t think it’s the kind of music that a lighter-voiced choir can skate through.
  • Don’t miss this opportunity to introduce your choir to the entire Te Deum. Have them read the complete text with translation. Better yet, have them sing the Ambrosian chant to put this motet in its proper perspective.

Enjoy! And then consider letting yourself be hypnotized by the sweeping string lines of the second movement of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony.

Attribution for Te Deum image:
By Nheyob – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
website link

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: bruckner, motets Last Updated: January 18, 2021

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About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 29th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 19 October 2025, which is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the sensational feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Today the Church has made a big mistake, turning the clock back 500 years with guitars and popular songs. I don’t like it at all. Gregorian Chant is a vital and important tradition of the Church and to waste this—by having guys mix religious words with profane, Western songs—is hugely grave, hugely grave.”

— Maestro Ennio Morricone (10 Sept 2009)

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