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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: March 28, 2023

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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. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —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

He stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year-old member of his family a cardinal and subsidize a nephew from the papal treasury.

— Re: Pope Saint Pius V (d. 1572)

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