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Views from the Choir Loft

10 Examples • “Diversity of Musical Styles” at the Traditional Latin Mass

Jeff Ostrowski · April 14, 2021

NOW THIS: it’s impossible to succeed as a church musician if one must constantly “justify one’s existence.” That is to say, the vocation of a choirmaster is already extremely difficult (physically and mentally). On top of all that, if one must constantly persuade one’s boss of one’s value, that’s too much—at least, in my humble opinion. Years ago, I worked for a priest whom I had to “entertain.” He demanded different songs at all five Masses each weekend—and if he wasn’t sufficiently entertained, the musician paid a heavy price. It was terrible! Therefore, one must find a priest who already understands the Catholic Mass demands a certain type of music that isn’t up for debate. One must find a priest who already knows that the Holy Mass is not about entertainment; it’s about glorifying God. At the same time, the music should be sung well. It must be beautiful and fitting. It should be a source of delight to anyone who hears it. In 2013, I spoke about the need for a diversity of styles during the Holy Mass. Some pieces should be organ only. Others, organ with voices. Some, voices only. Some Renaissance. Some Baroque. Some Gregorian Chant. Some Modern. And so forth and so on. I still believe this to be quite important.

Diverse Music For Mass

My colleague, Keven Smith, recently spoke of rebooting your choir, post-Covid. I have already described the difficult situation here in California due to Covid-19. We are not allowed to have choir rehearsals, which has caused me great anguish. In spite of this, I hope you will allow me to share some audio examples from last Sunday’s Mass—even though we aren’t allowed to have rehearsals—to illustrate ten ways you can obtain diversity:

(1) Modern Music

We like to sing modern music. Here’s an excerpt from Sunday, composed in 2013 by Richard Rice:

*  Mp3 Excerpt • MODERN MUSIC
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(2) Common Practice Era • Unison

We like to sing hymns in unison. Here’s #785 from the Brébeuf hymnal, recorded live:

*  Mp3 Excerpt • UNISON HYMN
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(3) Common Practice Era • Trebles

We like to hear just the Alto and Soprano sections. Here is #258 from the Brébeuf hymnal, a tune called “La Rochelle” with the text of Jesu Nostra Redemptio (“Redeemer of our fallen state”):

*  Mp3 Excerpt • SOPRANO + ALTO
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(4) Common Practice Era • Mixed

It is possible to sing hymns with Tenor, Alto, and Soprano. Here is #434 from the Brébeuf hymnal. It’s a tune called “Notre Dame” with the ancient text of Rex Sempiterne Domine (“Eternal King of Heaven’s hosts”):

*  Mp3 Excerpt • TENOR + TREBLES
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(5) Mediæval Harmonies

We like to sing Mediæval polyphony, and we did that for the AGNUS DEI:

*  Mp3 Excerpt • MEDIEVAL MUSIC
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(6) A Cappella Plainsong

Of course, there was plenty of plainsong without organ. Here is Post Dies Octo Januis Clausis (what Father Lasance calls the “Greater Alleluia”):

*  Mp3 Excerpt • PLAINSONG WITHOUT ORGAN
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(7) Accompanied Plainsong

And there was plenty of accompanied plainsong, as well. Here’s the Vidi Aquam sung by the ladies:

*  Mp3 Excerpt • PLAINSONG WITH ORGAN
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(9) Harmonized Plainsong

We even sing “harmonized” chant—as I spoke about in a recent blog post:

*  Mp3 Excerpt • HARMONIZED CHANT
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

(10) Chant With Drone

To evoke a more “peaceful” feeling, we had the men sing a “ison” for Gloria IX:

*  Mp3 Excerpt • Gloria IX with Drone
—Recorded live at the FSSP Mass in Los Angeles.

In addition to every combination you could imagine (soloists, female only, men only, men and female, and so forth), we also had—needless to say—organ music of every genre: French, Baroque, Modern, and so forth.

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

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Harmonized Gregorian Chant, Latin Mass Musical Diversity Last Updated: May 29, 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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Quick Thoughts

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The argument moves from the existence of the thing to the correctness of the thing: what is, ought to be. Or, a popular variant: if a thing is, it doesn’t make any difference whether it ought to be—the correct response is to adjust, to learn to live with the thing.”

— ‘L. Brent Bozell, Jr.’

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