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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • Plainsong Settings for Voice & Organ … in English! (957 pages)

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 14, 2022

M Corpus Christi Watershed is pleased
M to offer the following guest article
M by Mr. Brian Michael Page:

OUR YEARS AGO, I completed PSALM 151, a collection (957 pages) of Propers for the Sundays and major feasts of the Church Year. This work was over 32 years in the making. In the mid 1980s and into the 1990s, PSALM 151 was merely a collection of Responsorial Psalms for Sundays and feasts, and its exposure was basically limited to the whatever parish I was employed at in illo temprore. The collection has grown. I’ve added ALLELUIAS (mostly based on known chants according to season) and their Lenten replacements, simply dubbed “Alleluias and Gospel Acclamations.” You can find that collection still within my website: Christus Vincit Music.

Brief Overview: As of May, 2018, this work is complete! Many of the Psalms were updated, a good chunk of them re-written with chant melodies, and with standard Psalm tones with optional SATB endings. I’ve also added Introits, Graduals, the aforementioned Alleluias, Offertories, and Communions. Most of these are in the form of responsories. In the case of many of the longer antiphons (namely those from the Graduale Romanum), there is a portion of the antiphon in the people’s response, and the remainder is a versicle for the cantor or choir.

*  PDF Download • “PSALM 151” (957 pages)
—Includes the scores, and parts for the congregation.

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The Style Of These Pieces: While most of the material is chant-based—or at least “chant-like”—there are some metrical responses as well, and some even based on metrical hymn-tunes (e.g. In Der Ist Freude). Some material includes parts for brass and timpani. There is also an Ave Maria (Offertory for IV Advent and the Annunciation) which I wrote when I was “barely old enough to drink,” which includes parts for a string quartet. I also included “Parce, Dómine” for Ash Wednesday, based on one of the antiphons for the Imposition of Ashes, which includes verses of Psalm 51 (50) adapted to the Mode I chant.

My Influences: Other extra music includes choral options for the Easter and Pentecost sequences, a simplified version of the chant “Gloria, Laus, et Honor” with the English hymn text “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” great for processions from locations that begin outside the church. One could safely say that the writings show influences ranging from Theodore Marier to Alexander Peloquin.

Impact Of These Pieces: Since I released PSALM 151, the work has gradually gained exposure. I personally have heard well-executed renditions of (at the very least) the Responsorial Psalms on YouTube from Boston to San Francisco. In fact, for the past year or two, one parish in particular, St. Stephen Martyr in Washington, DC, has been using the Responsorial Psalms from this project regularly.

The Future of Psalm 151: I am working on a huge update, the Christus Vincit Gradual, which will add weekday Propers to the mix, as well as updated versions of much of the PSALM 151 material. Some of those updated versions include a couple of Advent offertories in the form of hymns from traditional sources (and using my own tunes), as well as some updated original Psalm tones. I am also restoring some of my older responses, including one for III Advent C (Isaiah 12), which also includes a juicy organ fanfare to let Gaudete Sunday live up to its name. PSALM 151 will remain on the site. There will be a planning guide that will support both PSALM 151 and the forthcoming Christus Vincit Gradual.

Personal Note: Special thanks to all who have supported my project over the last few years, especially Mr. Luke Massery. God bless.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Alexander Peloquin, Brian Michael Page, Psalm 151 Brian Michael Page, Theodore Marier Last Updated: July 14, 2022

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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“…I started down the road of the liturgy, and this became a continuous process of growth into a grand reality transcending all particular individuals and generations, a reality that became an occasion for me of ever-new amazement and discovery. The incredible reality of the Catholic liturgy has accompanied me through all phases of life, and so I shall have to speak of it time and again.”

— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

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