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Views from the Choir Loft

“Part 2 of 3” • Guerrero Kyrie for Our Lady

Jeff Ostrowski · June 7, 2021

NOWLEDGE GAINED by experience: nothing else can replace this. A presenter could talk for 30 years about “how to train a choir well”—but even that would not replace the actual experience of standing in front of a choir. Anyone with an internet connection can pontificate about choral music—yet almost instantly I can tell if the pontificator has ever stood before a choir in real life. Those who have experience conducting amateur choirs realize that choir rehearsal is like entering a “time warp.” Time moves so quickly, it’s as if rehearsal is over as soon as it begins!

Practical Application: Because of this reality, there’s limited time to work on choral vowels, blending, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, pronunciation, and so forth. Therefore, we often follow the 1958 document of Pope Pius XII, which wisely stated: “In general, it is better to do something well on a small scale than to attempt something elaborate without sufficient resources to do it properly.” Of course, if you have infinite rehearsal time, it would be different—but how many of us have sufficient rehearsal time?

Part 2 of 3: On 23 May 2021, I spoke about a possible way forward in Part 1. Now, I am happy to announce that the “Christe” section is ready—and it is one of the most beautiful compositions I have ever heard, although it’s surprisingly brief:

*  PDF • Father Guerrero “Kyrie Part 2”
—Taken from “De Beata Virgine II” — Edition: Roma 1582AD.

Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #63503.

Notice the very clever way Father Guerrero uses the plainsong motif from Kyrie IX:

Until my choir learns Part 3, we are singing Part 1 (“Kyrie”) twice, Part 2 (“Christe”) twice, and Part 1 (“Kyrie”) once. Please see the link I mentioned above—viz. Part 1—if you are having trouble understanding how we sometimes learn these compositions “piecemeal.”

Please go explore #63503 — I think you will really appreciate what’s there, and also Part 1 is conveniently located right above it. Please go there!

Click here to learn about a special portrait of Father Guerrero that Corpus Christi Watershed commissioned from a Russian artist in 2016:

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

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Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Easy Polyphony For Amateurs, Francisco Guerrero Composer, Missa De Beata Virgine II, Piecemeal Polyphony Last Updated: February 26, 2022

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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

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“As often as possible they gathered together the children of the village and sat them down in the cabin. Father Brébeuf would put on a surplice and biretta and chant the Our Father, which Father Daniel had translated into Huron rhymes, and the children would chant it after him. Next, he taught them the sign of the cross, the Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Commandments.”

— Biography of St. Jean de Brébeuf

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