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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 • SATB “Alleluia” by J.S. Bach

Jeff Ostrowski · September 28, 2022

N THE PARABLE of Lazarus the beggar, Abraham told the rich man: “There is a great gulf fixed between us and you…” I often feel like the computer screen constitutes a great gulf between myself and the readers of this blog. I wish I could speak to each of you personally (viva voce) and tell you how much rehearsal time can be saved by the “individual voice” rehearsal videos we create. In terms of how many ‘views’ they get, it’s only a fraction of the amount of views garnered by the “equal voice” videos; and that causes me sadness and consternation. Therefore, I will unflaggingly do my best to promote the individual voice rehearsal videos.

“Alleluia” by J.S. Bach • I have been researching the members appointed by Pope Pius X (d. 1914) to the PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ON GREGORIAN CHANT, which was in existence from approximately 1904 to 1913. During my research, I came across a brilliant little “Liturgical Alleluia” by Johann Sebastian Bach (d. 1750) arranged by Monsignor René Moissenet (choirmater at at Cathédrale Saint Bénigne de Dijon in France). There were ten members of the Pontifical Commission. Additionally, there were ten consultors, and Msgr. Moissenet was a consultor.

*  PDF Download • “SATB Alleluia” by J.S. Bach
—Arranged by the choirmaster of Saint Benignus Cathedral (Dijon, France).

M Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #47498 .

Mode 5 Discrepancy • One can easily fill in the verses using “simple” MODE V or “solemn” MODE V. I was surprised to learn that the official version does not have the extra note after the mediant cadence which is found in all the Introit tones:

Was J.S. Bach Catholic? • The question sometimes arises: “Can we sing music at Mass written by someone who was not Catholic?” I must avoid repeating what has already been discussed in great detail. Nevertheless, we can briefly ‘recap’ several points. First of all, it seems to me that singing a hymn strongly associated with an anti-Catholic movement—such as “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott”—would be unacceptable at the Holy Mass. I must admit that Dr. Theodore Marier disagrees, since he included that melody in his famous hymnal reviewed by Daniel Craig. Sometimes associations can fade away. For example, the pipe organ was forbidden by the Catholic Church for centuries owing to its pagan associations, but after those associations faded away, the pipe organ was adopted by the Church as the sacred instrument par excellence.

A Few Examples • What was done by Monsignor Moissenet (d. 1939) was not unusual, because a melody itself cannot be intrinsically evil. A melody is just an arrangement of notes. As Stravinsky used to say: “Composers arrange notes; nothing more.” Those who carefully examine tons of old Catholic hymnals (as the committee which assembled the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal painstakingly did for years) will notice that even irreproachable Catholic hymnals sometimes used melodies written by Protestants. For example, the “Arundel Catholic Hymnal”—which included a letter of praise from Pope Leo XIII—included a Protestant melody by Johann Crüger (d. 1662). It also included a section you’ll recognize from the Gutenberg Cantata by Felix Mendelssohn (d. 1847), who was not Catholic. Including Protestant texts was a different matter, and when Catholic authors employed such texts they usually tried to disguise what they had done. For instance, those who carefully examine the Hosanna Catholic Hymnal (1914) will notice some texts by Protestants, even though that book was edited by Father Ludwig Bonvin (a priest who served as choirmaster at Canisius College, a Jesuit institution in Buffalo, New York). If someone is interested in this subject, I would strongly recommend:

*  “Catholic Sensibility” • What Makes A Hymnal Catholic?

Photograph • A meeting of the PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ON GREGORIAN CHANT in September of 1904:

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Johann Sebastian Bach, Rene Moissenet Alleluia, SATB Alleluia Bach Last Updated: May 1, 2024

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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “The Worm That Dieth Not”
    My pastor asked me to write a column for our parish bulletin with reflections on the sacred liturgy and church music. In my most recent article, I discuss “The Worm That Dieth Not.” At this website, you can access it conveniently; simply scroll down to the one dated 31 August 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

These prayers were not peculiar to Good Friday in the early ages (they were said on Spy Wednesday as late as the eighth century); their retention here, it is thought, was inspired by the idea that the Church should pray for all classes of men on the day that Christ died for all. Duchesne is of opinion that the “Oremus” now said in every Mass before the Offertory—which is not a prayer—remains to show where this old series of prayers was once said in all Masses.

— Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)

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