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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • 2-Voice Eucharistic Hymn by Flor Peeters (45 pages) • Includes a Descant!

Jeff Ostrowski · September 13, 2022

ATHOLIC PRIESTS are (usually) forbidden by vows from having a wife and family, but Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen used to speak of ‘spiritual children’ which priests beget. I have been so edified to watch my students mature, bloom, and attain their own achievements. A former student of mine recently released a project—which looks wonderful—to add “embellishments” to the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. The embellishments they have planned (judging by the statements contained in their PREFACE below) include soprano descants, colorful and chromatic re-harmonizations, counter-melodies, and so forth.

Their inaugural release is a Eucharistic Hymn from the Brébeuf Hymnal, which was often sung on the octave of Corpus Christi (a.k.a. “In Octava Eucharistiæ”). You can download the entire book for free—all 45 pages! Part of the permission they received from Sophia Institute Press stipulated that everything must be offered freely online.1

*  PDF Download • Eucharistic Hymn; Latin & English (45 pages)
—Includes a Two-Voice Choral Setting by Flor Peeters (d. 1986) • Also a Soprano descant.
—Includes a version in English plus optional version in Latin.
—Includes an SATB setting based on the harmonies in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal.
*  Softcover • Eligible for AMAZON PRIME ($7.99)

Squeaky Soprano • I recorded two verses to help my volunteer choir learn this splendid piece, but you’ll have to tolerate my squeaky soprano notes. (I’m a baritone.) I also omitted the organ accompaniment:

M Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #48088 .

Melchizedek Prefigured Christ • The hymn in that video (“Hoste Dum Victo Triumphans”) speaks about Melchizedek, who was a ‘type’ of Christ. Abraham’s son Isaac was another ‘type’ of Christ because the Bible says Isaac carried the wood on his own back for the sacrifice (Genesis 22:6). Melchizedek mysteriously offered (Genesis 14) bread and wine as a sacrifice to the Most High God. The DROGO SACRAMENTARY, created circa 850AD, seems to have been made for the personal use of Charlemagne’s son DROGO, bishop of Metz. The beginning of the Roman Canon (“Te ígitur clementíssime…”) shows three different sacrifices mentioned in the Old Testament: Abel’s, Abraham’s, and Melchizedek’s.

*  PDF Download • Sacrifice of Melchizedek
—Drogo Sacramentary • Beginning of the Roman Canon (“Te igitur clementissime…”).

1 We have ordered this collection for our parish choir, because xerox copies (and sheets from a home printer) are obnoxious and impossible to store. The softcover books from AMAZON are impressive and slick.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Brébeuf Embellishment Choral Series, Drogo Sacramentary, Flor Peeters, Hoste Dum Victo Triumphans, Hymn Descant, In Octava Eucharistiae Last Updated: October 6, 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
    Various shell corporations (in an effort to make money selling Sacred Scripture) have tinkered with the LECTIONARY texts in a way that’s shameful. It’s no wonder Catholics in the pews know so few Bible passages by heart. Without authorization, these shell corporations pervert the official texts. Consider the Responsorial Psalm for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year A). If you download this PDF comparison chart you’ll notice each country randomly omits certain sections. Such tinkering has gone on for 60+ years—and it’s reprehensible.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Monsignor Klaus Gamber Speaks!
    An interesting quotation from the eminent liturgist, Monsignor Klaus Gamber (d. 1989): “According to canon law, a person’s affiliation with a particular liturgical rite is determined by that person’s rite of baptism. Given that the liturgical reforms of Pope Paul VI created a de facto new rite, one could assert that those among the faithful who were baptized according to the traditional Roman rite have the right to continue following that rite; just as priests who were ordained according to the traditional Ordo have the right to exercise the very rite that they were ordained to celebrate.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“There are no hymns, in this sense, till the fourth century; they were not admitted to the Roman office till the twelfth. No Eastern rite to this day knows this kind of hymn. Indeed, in our Roman rite we still have the archaic offices of the last days of Holy Week and of the Easter octave, which—just because they are archaic—have no hymns.”

— Adrian Fortescue (25 March 1916)

Recent Posts

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  • False Accusations
  • (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
  • PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
  • “Can Choral Music Survive?” • 3 Reasons It Will

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