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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “What Child Is This?” • Jeff’s Arrangement of This Carol … in Latin!

Jeff Ostrowski · December 24, 2022

N A FAMOUS letter written circa 1996, Justice Antonin Scalia (d. 2016) opened up in a very personal way to Justice Harry Blackmun, saying he felt worried: “I am beginning to repeat myself.” Like Justice Scalia, I try not to repeat myself on these pages, but sometimes it’s inevitable. Perhaps readers remember why I no longer compose. It was when DR. CALABRESE came to Los Angeles and conducted a brief SATB KYRIE by Father Francisco Guerrero (d. 1599). At that point, I had already spent two decades studying 16th century counterpoint, conducting Renaissance polyphony, and transcribing thousands of pages by Palestrina, Victoria, Handl, Marenzio, Croce, Lassus, and so on. But something hit me in that moment. I realized that Guerrero was composing on an entirely different level. Therefore, I stopped composing—because it was embarrassing for me to pretend that Guerrero and I shared the same profession. (Nor would I step onto the basketball court with Michael Jordan.)

Not Completely • Since that time, on those rare occasions when I do compose, I utilize a fake name. For every rule, however, there is an exception. This morning, I sat down and wrote a brief SATB arrangement for “What Child Is This?” (which I consider a truly beautiful Christmas carol). Then I attempted to record all the vocal parts—including the girls’ parts!—and here’s how it turned out:

*  PDF Download • SATB “What Child Is This?” (IN LATIN)
—For an English version, cf. #677 in the Brébeuf Hymnal.

M Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #43746 .

[The polyphonic version of “What Child Is This” can be downloaded in English as of 18 December 2024.]

Repeating The Answer • Something we must keep repeating: the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal is dedicated to metrical hymns. The Liber Usualis is a gorgeous book—but the Brébeuf Hymnal is different. Some people say: “I think the Brébeuf Hymnal should have included the same pieces which the Liber Usualis included.” It’s difficult to understand why they say this. If they want the Liber Usualis, they ought to purchase the Liber Usualis. But the Brébeuf Hymnal is different, because it’s dedicated to metrical hymnody.

Cheetah Vs. Giraffe • After all, a cheetah is not a giraffe—so it’s rather silly to complain that the cheetah’s neck isn’t as long as the giraffe’s neck. Similarly, people sometimes say: “I think the Brébeuf Hymnal should contain all the Gregorian hymns that were printed in Cantus Varii.” Again, it’s difficult to understand why anyone would say that! Those who desire Cantus Varii should purchase that book! But the Brébeuf Hymnal is different, because it provides what can be found in no other book … viz. the finest Catholic metrical hymns.

Expanding The Mission • Some parishes are not allowed to sing in English. They use Latin only. Therefore, I have created a whole slew of “personal additions” to the Brébeuf Hymnal. Essentially, I take the Latin texts found in the Brébeuf Hymnal—along with the superb literal translations—and create performance editions. Obviously, these Latin hymns (which often contain elisions) would not be suitable for congregations.1 Very soon, I will release all these editions online; I just need to find a sensible way to do this. I’ve amassed quite a collection!

1 With a few notable exceptions (such as “ADESTE FIDELES”) congregations sound pretty terrible when they try to sing a whole bunch of Latin verses. I learned this the hard way!

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Cantus Varii, Latin Christmas Carols, Latin What Child Is This, What Child Is This? Last Updated: December 18, 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

    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for Pentecost Sunday (8 June 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Because our choir is on break this week, the music is relatively simple.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)
    I stumbled upon this live recording of a PROCESSIONAL I played on the pipe organ in 2002. It’s an excerpt from a much longer composition by Sebastian Bach. In those days, there weren’t sophisticated recording devices allowing one “fix” wrong notes. (Perhaps they existed, but we didn’t have machines like that.) So it was necessary to play the entire piece from beginning to end. If you’re a church organist, feel free to download the PDF score. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until some joker uses “artificial intelligence” to play music at church … but there’s something so satisfying about playing an organ in real life.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“Obey, then, these prescriptions sincerely and calmly. [viz. clerics must pray their office in Latin.] It is not an excessive love of old ways that prompts them.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (15 August 1966)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
  • “Participation” • Recovering its Receptive Dimension
  • “Breathtaking Photographs” • First Mass of Father Michael Caughey, FSSP (Muskegon, MI)

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