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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 • Symposium Kyrie Revealed

Jeff Ostrowski · February 8, 2023

O MICROPHONE can accurately capture the complex, luscious, magnificent sound of a full choir in real life. Each singer aims for each pitch, but some are slightly higher and others slightly lower—and that’s what makes the choral sound so rich. People often complain: “Catholic priests won’t pay a living wage for choir directors, yet gladly pay millions to purchase a pipe organ.” That is certainly true (and scandalous), but I believe this is because most priests have never heard a full choir in real life. At this year’s Sacred Music Symposium, I will discuss techniques for recruiting (and keeping) volunteer singers.

Quartet Vs. Choir • Professional groups—in an effort to save money—sometimes attempt polyphony with “one per part.” No matter how excellent the singers, this still produces a QUARTET SOUND, which is not the same as a choir. Indeed, the masterpieces of the Renaissance often juxtapose the sound of the QUARTET against the full choir, e.g. during the BENEDICTUS movement of the SANCTUS. Roger Wagner said: “Soloists are dangerous in any church choir! Their voices frequently do not blend with those of the other singers to form a rich, integrated tone.” The spectacular book by the legendary Dr. Stevenson provides irrefutable evidence showing that choirs were often quite large in Renaissance times. That makes sense, considering the massive churches their voices had to fill.

Rehearsal Videos • I often produce practice videos for each individual voice. Although these videos are far from perfect, they save rehearsal time. That means more time can be spent on vocal production, vowels, pronunciation, phrasing, and a million other things.

Part 1 (with me attempting Soprano):

Part 2 and Part 3 (with a real Soprano):

Sadness • You can download the PDF score (for free) and hear the rehearsal videos for each individual voice at #43065. However, most readers will not do that, and this makes me sad.

By the way, here’s an excerpt from the Stevenson book vis-à-vis how the members of the Sistine Chapel were chosen in the days of Father Cristóbal de Morales (d. 1553):

“When a new singer is proposed, his character shall first be examined, and then he shall be brought to a musical examination conducted by the choir members themselves. The first requisite is his voice quality; the second, his ability to keep his part in homophony; the third, his sufficiency as a singer of contrapuntal music; the fourth, his ability to sing plainsong; and the fifth his sight-reading ability. A secret vote shall be taken after his musical examination, and no singer may be admitted unless two-thirds of the singers (plus one vote) for his admission. After being admitted—and having attended to all the financial formalities—he must give himself solely to the daily routine in the pope’s chapel and may not sing elsewhere nor carry on other business. His duties as a new singer include moving the heavy choirbooks into place; as soon as a newer singer enters he no longer moves them into place for everyday singing, but he still carries them with his junior novice in the choir during processions. Absolute silence during divine office is required. All business such as requests for leaves of absence must be directed to the most senior member of the choir present. Special requests must be approved in a secret vote by two-thirds plus one. Heavy fines are to be assessed for malingering or other false reports. Every five years an extended leave is granted-five months for Italians; ten for French and Spanish. The feast box from the pope’s kitchen is to be awarded in rotation to choristers, who should divide it among their colleagues.”

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Robert Murrell Stevenson, Sacred Music Symposium 2023 Last Updated: February 8, 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    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

Random Quote

“I would hope there is a place [at Mass] for the avant-garde in the same way I think there has to be a place—and we have to be careful with this—a place for Jazz and a place for Evangelical and all of that. […] On theological grounds, I do think we need interaction with the culture at the level of high art or at the level of more commercial pop culture.”

— Fr. Anthony Ruff (22 June 2016)

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