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Views from the Choir Loft

Photographs • Weinmann “Graduale” on 5 Lines!

Jeff Ostrowski · November 28, 2022

WAS LISTENING to a fascinating video. An elderly Irish man was explaining what it was like to fight in THE GREAT WAR (“WWI”). When the men were told to “go over the top”—in other words, enter no man’s land to attack the Germans—anyone who refused to leave the trenches was shot on the spot. The Irish soldier said he looked down and saw a young man grievously wounded. The man’s organs were no longer inside his body; his innards were spread out on the ground. The Irish soldier said this poor chap uttered only word before he expired: “Mother.” Many of the soldiers were only 16 years old. Perhaps that boy was calling out (as he lay dying) to the person who had cared for him.

But A Few Years • We recently scanned and uploaded the Graduale on Modern Staves (672 pages) published in 1909 by Father Karl Weinmann, an eminent German musicologist. His Graduale was published just a few years before World War I began [Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated on 28 June 1914], and his marvelous Vesperale on Modern Staves (651 pages) was published in 1915, during the war. I can’t get over the breathtaking typesetting and beauty of each page. Notice the German translation of the Latin, rigorously precise spacing, and splendid religious graphics:

A Different Time • World War I was utterly brutal. The dead bodies couldn’t be collected due to the risk of German sniper fire, so the young men were forced to watch their friends’ corpses decay for weeks (!) as the ubiquitous rats devoured them. The wounded had to exercise extreme caution, because rats would also attack them—and frequently such attacks were lethal. All the soldiers were infected with lice. They were not allowed to remove their boots. As a result, thousands had their feet amputated, as the frostbite often turned into gangrene. And yet, the soldiers did not hate the enemy. At Christmas, a 7-day truce witnessed English and German soldiers playing soccer together, exchanging gifts, enjoying pleasant conversation, singing Christmas carols together, and promising to “shoot high” after the truce came to an end. How different their lives were compared to ours!

Conclusion • Certainly, the vocation of a choirmaster is not easy. But let’s consider what our grandfathers suffered, and we will find the courage to continue on!

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Graduale by Dr Weinmann, Karl Weinmann 1873-1929 Last Updated: December 1, 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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Quick Thoughts

    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Chants closely related to the readings should, of course, be appropriately transferred for use with these readings. For pastoral reasons also there is an option regarding the chants for the Proper of Seasons: namely, as circumstances suggest, to replace the text proper to a day with another text belonging to the same season.”

— Ordo Cantus Missae (1971)

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