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

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Views from the Choir Loft

Breaking! • Official Release of “Stowe Missal Eucharistic Motets” for 3 voices (Kevin Allen)

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 26, 2022

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URING THIS SUMMER’S spectacular church music Symposium, there was a panel discussion. Each faculty member recommended an indispensable piece of choral music for those who direct volunteer choirs. Jeff Ostrowski recommended Kevin Allen’s Matri Divinæ Collection—written for SAB choir—declaring: “These pristine pieces are absolute gold. They have the Solfège markings already written in, they’re fresh and fun, and (especially if your singers have varying degrees of experience) you should start with these at the beginning of every season!”

Stowe Missal Motets: Composer Kevin Allen has just released another collection which is quite similar to Matri Divinæ. That’s because: (1) They’re for three voices (Soprano, Alto, Bass); (2) They have the Solfège already written in; (3) They are modern and fresh; and (4) They include additional psalm-tones to match perfectly the liturgical action happening at the Altar:

*  Amazon • “Stowe Missal Eucharistic Motets” (SAB)
—Sold by Amazon (all proceeds go directly to the composer).

Provenance Of These Texts: It is not known when the famous STOWE MISSAL was created. In the Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Adrian Fortescue dates it around 615AD, but some scholars think it may have been earlier (while others suggest its genesis came later). Around 1200AD, frequent reception of Holy Communion by the faithful became rare, but the STOWE MISSAL contains the texts of various songs to be sung during the distribution of Holy Communion.

Sample Score: Those who wish to do so may download a Stowe Missal Motet Sample Score. To share a video recording with your friends—which helps spread the word about serious Catholic composers such as Mr. Allen—please click here.

Rehearsal Videos: Jeff Ostrowski, in an effort to assist volunteer choirs, has already recorded practice videos for one of these majestic motets (“Commíxtio Córporis”). These free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #53338.

Completely New: The “Stowe Missal Eucharistic Motets” were commissioned by Corpus Christi Watershed in honor of the USCCB’s declared National Eucharistic Revival, which began on 19 June 2022. They were premiered at Sacred Music Symposium 2022:

Photographs:

Kevin Allen: Kevin Allen has been highly regarded as a composer of opera, chamber, and orchestral music. Mr. Allen has also developed a unique reputation as a composer of church music for the Roman Rite. Mr. Allen’s works—both sacred and secular—have been performed in churches and concert halls throughout the world. Mr. Allen is the founding director of the Collins Consort, the American Composer’s Project, and the Schola Immaculata. He directs music at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Chicago.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, Notices Tagged With: 3-part SAB motets, Composer Kevin Allen, Easy Polyphony For Amateurs, National Eucharistic Revival, Simple Polyphony, Soprano Alto Bass Polyphony, Stowe Missal Eucharistic, Stowe Missal Motets Last Updated: August 11, 2022

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Quick Thoughts

For the Upcoming Choir Season!

Last week, I posted an SATB choral setting of the SANCTUS in a ‘contemporary’ style. You might want to consider this piece for two reasons: (1) It’s extremely brief; (2) Free rehearsal videos are available for each individual part. The piece is by Father Lhoumeau.

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • “Sunday Vespers” (22 pages)

When an organist accompanies Vespers, there is no time to think. It’s one thing after another: Bam – Bam – Bam. And that’s what makes Vespers difficult to accompany; there’s hardly even time to check the key signature for each piece! Therefore, although it’s far from perfect, I’m releasing this 22-page booklet:

PDF Download • SUNDAY VESPERS ACCOMPANIMENT

As time goes on, I will explain why I believe this booklet is important, my hopes for it, and why I selected the official edition, directly from the Vesperale Romanum. In spite of its imperfections, creating this (draft) booklet required much more effort than I had anticipated.

—Jeff Ostrowski
11 July 2022 • FEEDBACK

Someone who heard the CCW plainsong recordings with NOH accompaniment says: “For years I have travelled the continents and crossed the oceans of Gregorian chant in search of a composition and interpretation as sublime as this. The text and the melody are interwoven in a game of mirrors with the interpreters, the singer and the instrumentalist, so as to confer delicacy on the jubilation. The organ is soft, humble. This is what we hear from the singer. These artists have come together to produce beauty. In 1903, Pope Pius X, by motu proprio, restored Gregorian chant in the Latin Church. In his words: Sacred music must possess, to an eminent degree, the qualities proper to the liturgy, and notably the sanctity and delicacy of form, whence another characteristic spontaneously results, universality. I stress: the holiness and delicacy of forms result in universality, time and place. That is to say, sometimes the beauty of human hands gently caresses the face of the Eternal.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“A penalty is decreed against clerics, who, being in sacred Orders, or holding benefices, do not wear a dress befitting their Order. […] In these days, the contempt of religion has grown to such a pitch that—making but little account of their own dignity, and of the clerical honor—some even wear in public the dress of laymen…”

— ‘Council of Trent (Session 14, Chapter 6)’

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