• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Does Your Musical Program Have Balance?

Jeff Ostrowski · March 2, 2022

AST ARTICLES on this website have spoken about the importance of musical diversity during Mass. What I call musical diversity could also be referred to as “musical balance.” In an article called “Should Hymn Lyrics Be Inordinately Archaic?” I warned against excessively archaic lyrics, such as a translation of O SALUTARIS HOSTIA popular in many 19th-century hymnals: “intestine wars invade our breast.” But that doesn’t mean that one should never ever sing a hymn with archaic lyrics—and we saw that with Saint Robert Southwell’s Eucharistic Hymn.

Personal Preferences: Everyone has personal preferences. For myself, I’m not particularly drawn to many 19th-century hymn tunes. And yet, many Catholics love them. I try not to let my “personal taste” prevent me from having a balanced choral program. Below are two examples of 19th-century hymns which my singers love.

First Example: Page 727 in the Brébeuf hymnal is “Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All,” written by Father Frederick William Faber, published as #16 (“Corpus Christi”) in Oratory Hymns (1954); the complete poem has nine verses. The melody comes from 1826, and appears in Catholic books such as Mediator Dei Hymnal (1955) p. 55; Adoremus Hymnal (1997) #516; Eucharistic Hymnal, edited by Archbishop Joseph Schrembs (1935) p. 7. The text can be found in Catholic books such as Saint Andrew Hymnal, authorized by the Archbishops and Bishops of Scotland for use in the Scottish Dioceses (1964) p. 185 and the Pope Pius XII Hymnal (Ohio: Gregorian Institute of America, 1959) p. 9.

Second Example: Page 726 in the Brébeuf hymnal is “O Jesus, We Adore Thee,” a text by Father Irvin M. Udulutsch—and what a last name that is! Father Udulutsch was professor of music at the Seminary of St. Lawrence of Brindisi (Mount Calvary, Wisconsin) and a founding member of the Church Music Association of America.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Frederick William Faber, Latin Mass Musical Diversity Last Updated: March 2, 2022

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

It is clear the Church is facing a grave crisis. Under the name of “the new Church” and “the post-conciliar Church,” a different Church from that of Jesus Christ is now trying to establish itself: an anthropocentric society threatened with imminent apostasy which is allowing itself to be swept along in a movement of general abdication under the pretext of renewal, ecumenicism, or adaptation.

— Cardinal Henri de Lubac (29 August 1967)

Recent Posts

  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
  • At the Cross • Stabat Mater
  • Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2023

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.