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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

“New Section 2” • (Piecemeal Agnus Dei)

Jeff Ostrowski · August 20, 2022

OT LONG AGO, I released this setting of the Agnus Dei. It consists of three parts: (a) Canon by Nanino; (b) Duo by Guerrero; (c) SATB “Dona nobis” by Guerrero. For lack of a better term, I label such compositions as piecemeal polyphony. Piecemeal polyphony can be introduced one section at a time—rather than attempting all three sections immediately. As you may have already guessed, piecemeal polyphony is excellent for volunteer choirs.

Adding Variety • During the month of July, our choir does not sing, but females who desired to sing were welcome. That meant we sang “section 2” a whole lot, which made me decide (yesterday) to replace it with something new:

*  PDF Download • Alternate “Section 2” (Guerrero)
—This SATB section can substitute for the two-voice (“duo”) Section 2.

M Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #48998 .

Despondency: Most readers won’t click on the individual voice parts, and that makes me sad. When we post a “scandalous” liturgical video, we get 40,000 views. I wish we could accumulate as many views for the rehearsal videos—we must revive authentic sacred music!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Easy Polyphony For Amateurs, Francisco Guerrero Composer, Piecemeal Agnus Dei Last Updated: August 20, 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

When you consider that the greatest hymns ever written—the plainchant hymns—are pushing the age of eight hundred and that the noble chorale hymn tunes of Bach date from the early eighteenth century, then what is the significance of the word “old” applied to “Mother at Thy Feet Is Kneeling”? Most of the old St. Basil hymns date from the Victorian era, particularly the 1870s and 1880s.

— Paul Hume (1956)

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