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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • My Favorite Gregorian Hymn

Jeff Ostrowski · March 17, 2021

YMNS. HYMNS. HARMONIOUS HYMNS. There are so many beautiful Gregorian hymns, but I think my favorite is “Te Joseph Celebrent”—a hymn to Saint Joseph. I believe the melody itself is medieval, although the text comes from the 17th century, perhaps written by the Spanish Carmelite Juan de la Concepción. The feast of Saint Joseph (March 19th) is coming up, and the scores have been added to the Saint René Goupil Website.

Here’s the Gregorian chant score with a literal English translation:

*  PDF Download • “Te Joseph Celebrent”
—With English Translation by Father Joseph Connelly • 1954 Imprimatur.

Here’s an organ accompaniment by Flor Peeters and his team:

*  PDF Download • ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT

Here’s a recording by FSSP seminarians, including Father Ulrich Theurerer, who was later ordained for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. (I knew him as a priest, not a seminarian.)

Verse 3 :
Thou embracest thine Infant God;
thou accompaniest him in his flight
to the distant shores of Egypt;
when lost in Jerusalem,
thou didst seek him and find him,
thus mingling tears with joy.

Verse 4 :
Death alone fixes
the happy lot of other Saints,
and in glory they receive
the palm they have merited;
but thou, more blessed than they,
by a special privilege
enjoyest thy God here below.

I love this picture of Saint Joseph because the dark blue sections are truly stunning:

Te, Joseph, célebrent ágmina caélitum:
Te cuncti résonent Christiádum chori,
Qui clarus méritis, junctus es ínclytae,
Casto foédere Vírgini.

Dom Andrew Gregory Murray wrote a special melody for “Te Joseph Celebrent” with English lyrics by Father Edward Caswall:

*  PDF Download • Te Joseph Celebrent (English)
—Melody and Harmonies by Dom Gregory Murray.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Andrew Gregory Murray d 1992, Dom Gregory Murray, Saint Joseph March 19, Te Joseph Celebrent Last Updated: March 18, 2021

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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Slander!” • (Response to an Accusation)
    A reader sent us an email which was both thoughtful and articulate. Feeling it deserved a response, I published this article a few days ago. I included the full letter sent to us by the reader, but that's not all. Indeed, the article became rather lengthy and touched upon a number of different themes. I hope you enjoy it!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Interesting story about Sergei Rachmaninoff
    It's very brief, but I think you would enjoy hearing Benno Moiseiwitsch (d. 1963) tell this really cool story about Sergei Rachmaninoff (d. 1943). Moiseiwitsch, whose playing was admired by Josef Hofmann, had studied with Theodor Leschetizky (d. 1915). I opened my recent article by speaking of a powerful quote Rachmaninoff gave to Robert Croan, music critic for the Post Gazette and professor of voice at Duquesne University.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    [Quiz] • “Do You Know Your Hymns?”
    In case you missed it, many readers have enjoyed taking this little Quiz On Hymns. In the context of that article, I included a sensational quote about the Holy Mass by Monsignor Ronald Knox. Moreover, I talk about how Abraham Lincoln's mother died, as well as a fabulous Eucharistic hymn by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Pope Gelasius in his 9th Letter to the Bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving the priest at the celebration of Mass. Since this abuse had spread to the Greeks, Innocent IV strictly forbade it in his letter to the Bishop of Tusculum: “Women should not dare to serve at the altar; they should be altogether refused this ministry.” We too have forbidden this practice in the same words in Our oft-repeated constitution “Etsi Pastoralis” (§6, #21)

— Pope Benedict XIV • Encyclical “Allatae Sunt” (26 July 1755)

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  • [Quiz] • “Do You Know Your Hymns?”

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