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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Brief Choral Alleluia” (Suitable for the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form)

Jeff Ostrowski · May 6, 2023

OMETHING THAT TROUBLES me deeply is when liturgical conferences spend virtually no effort on the music. At such gatherings, the music seems an “afterthought.” I won’t name names—because doing so would get me in trouble!—but I have witnessed liturgical conferences which cost more than $100,000 (with numerous bishops and cardinals in attendance) where the music is provided by only a handful of musicians, rather than a spectacular, robust, fullsome choir. Some priests mistakenly believe that it’s okay if the music is unimpressive, tedious, monotonous, poorly executed, and boring. Their argument is as follows:

“Sacred music is about honoring God; it’s not about giving delight to the faithful. Therefore, even if the music sounds terrible, that’s okay because God sees the heart.”

My response would be: “If what you say is true, Father, are you willing to wear a poorly-made, misshapen, ugly Chasuble? After all, sacred vestments aren’t meant to give delight to the congregation, right?”

Rapprochement • Not long ago, I suggested that what’s needed between priests and musicians is a “rapprochement.” Too many priests are ignorant of the glories of authentic sacred music. On the other hand, too many musicians don’t realize that church music must be presented well if we expect priests to fall in love with it. I have encouraged choirmasters to select music which is not too lengthy and to make sure it is sung with utter perfection. The following “Alleluia Polyphonic Extension” is based on an arrangement I made twenty years ago, from one of my favorite composers: Giovanni Gabrieli (d. 1612). We created the following rehearsal video (simulation), for this glorious piece that will be sung by 85 singers at this year’s Sacred Music Symposium:

M Rehearsal videos and free PDF score await you at #40710.

Coming From Somewhere • In another article, I attempted to explain how important it is (in my humble opinion) to build on authentic traditions of the past. I try to look at things as they really are. For example, I feel one of the greatest Masses ever composed—one for which I would give my life—is Missa Mille Regretz by Father Cristóbal de Morales (d. 1553). Some claim it’s inappropriate, since it was based on a secular melody. In the past, I’ve made many arguments against that allegation, and I won’t repeat them all here. However, it’s worth pointing out that other composers—in the wake of the COUNCIL OF TRENT—disguised their “secular” Masses. For example, Palestrina wrote a l’Homme Armé Mass as late as 1582AD, which he disguised by calling it “Missa Quarta.” Other composers disguised their Masses by calling them “Sine Nomine.” Again I say: Let us always examine the intrinsic characteristics of the music!

Those Who Hate Tradition • One thing that annoys me is the way the reformers of the 1960s seemed to have no regard for the ancient traditions of the Catholic Church. CARDINAL ANTONELLI was—one could argue—the “prime mover” of all the liturgical reforms of the 20th century, owing to his Memoria Sulla Riforma Liturgica (1948), which he got Pope Pius XII to approve. Antonelli had much more veneration for history than Annibale Bugnini, and yet the statements made by Antonelli often reveal unthinkable hubris, ignorance, and naiveté. For example, Antonelli told that pope that everyone who resisted the reforms did so “from indolence or lack of liturgical sensibility.” In the late 1940s Antonelli said: “Everywhere and by everyone it is recognized that today in the Catholic world, especially among the clergy, there is a desire, indeed even a conviction of the need for liturgical reform.” Indeed, Antonelli even said that the essence of the sacred liturgy “unfortunately, had been lost for centuries.” How arrogant it is to pretend that we, who are alive now, are so much more enlightened than all the Catholic saints of the past!

On the other hand, Cardinal Antonelli did have the honesty—in retrospect—to admit the flaws of the reformers, saying: “they have only been able to demolish and not to restore.” Indeed, regarding the post-conciliar liturgical changes, Antonelli wrote in his diary: “Time will tell whether all this was for better or for worse, or merely indifferent altogether.” As far as I can tell, Ferdinando Giuseppe Antonelli never served in any pastoral role. During his entire (very long) life he was never a pastor; he never had a congregation of his own. Perhaps this lack of experience explains why he allowed himself to be seduced by the reform zeitgeist, which demanded change for the sake of change.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Alleluia Polyphonic Extension, Cardinal Ferdinando Giuseppe Antonelli OFM, Catholic Composer Cristobal de Morales, Giovanni Gabrieli Composer, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Last Updated: May 9, 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

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

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

A hymn verse need not be a complete sentence, but it must have completed sense as a recognisable part of the complete sentence, and at each major pause there would be at least a “sense-pause.” Saint Ambrose and the early writers and centonists always kept to this rule. This indicates one of the differences between a poem and a hymn, and by this standard most of the modern hymns and the revisions of old hymns in the Breviary stand condemned.

— Fr. Joseph Connelly

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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