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Views from the Choir Loft

Splendid Repertoire for (Reduced) Summer Choirs!

Jeff Ostrowski · July 25, 2023

NCOMFORTABLE. Having one’s assumptions challenged can be uncomfortable. For example, feminists complain that our society is male-dominated and plead for “equality in outcome” vis-à-vis men and women. However, they suddenly become uncomfortable when somebody reminds them that most people in prison are men, most people who commit suicide are men, and most victims of violent crime are men. I came to an uncomfortable realization twenty years ago while studying at the conservatory. I realized that most of my life had been dedicated to studying piano—a percussion instrument—and was necessary to learn new skills if I wanted to become a decent singer.

Crucial Choral Technique • Whenever one strikes a piano note, it can’t get louder. Since the piano is a percussion instrument, the tone will inevitably decay (i.e. get softer), whereas instruments such as the violin are capable of producing a crescendo. For instance, when singing a note such as the one below (highlighted by pink) a good singer will start very softly and then crescendo:

I consider this technique to be absolutely crucial for singers. Unfortunately, one must sing a lot before it becomes second nature. The conscientious choirmaster attempting to teach this technique to singers will notice they do the crescendo well but always forget to get soft at the beginning.

Repertoire for “Summer” Choirs • During the summertime, many choirs take a break. Our choir is no exception—and I truly believe it’s both healthy and necessary for volunteers to take time off during the summer. Nevertheless, even during summertime we’re still responsible for two sung Masses each Sunday. For these Masses, we sometimes have a small group of singers. Where can we find choral repertoire that sounds good even with just a few singers? One excellent source is the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. Last Sunday, I asked the singers to start softly and then crescendo on the long notes in the following hymn. Do you agree they did well?

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

Beautiful Hymn Tune • That hymn tune is called THAXTED. According to the Brébeuf footnote, the name came from a church—in a town called “Thaxted”—where Gustav Holst (d. 1934) served as organist. I believe the Brébeuf Hymnal uses the THAXTED melody more than any other hymnal. You can see this by searching the Brébeuf Portal for “Thaxted.”

Evil Texts? • Several ‘progressive’ hymnals set THAXTED to other lyrics. I tend to be wary of the big publishing companies. Many of the songs they promote contain melodies (and lyrics!) composed by people who publicly lead immoral lives or dissent from Catholic teaching.1 Indeed, many of their ‘hymns’ contain heresy—which I find troubling. Is the Catholic Church so desperate for melodies and lyrics we must get them from such people? How can that be, when the Catholic Church has—without question—produced the world’s greatest music for centuries? Moreover, she has produced the most beautiful texts for 2,000 years. Think of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Robert Southwell, Saint Ambrose, and so on. I would have considerable difficulty singing lyrics at Mass (!) written by someone known to be living an immoral life. What a consolation it is to read the list of translators in the Brébeuf Hymnal: Monsignor Knox, Father Husenbeth, Dom Wallace, Archbishop Bagshawe, Father Fitzpatrick, Father Popplewell, Father Caswall, Father Schrader, Cardinal Newman, Monsignor Henry, Father Hopkins, Father Collins, and so forth.

Father Valentine Young, OFM • Whenever someone had been honored or recognized publicly for excellence, Father Valentine would exclaim: “Well, at least I can say that I know famous people!” His words came to my mind a few minutes ago. I was researching the THAXTED melody, and look what I discovered:

*  PDF Download • Our Contributor’s Name!

Respect Volunteer Singers! • I believe it’s crucial to give your volunteer singers a break. That is to say: it’s not healthy to have your volunteers sing constantly without ever taking a break. The choirmaster who never gives his singers a break, has them report to the church twice weekly (even during summertime), and forces them to arrive an hour before each Mass (even during summertime) will observe his choir shrink and shrink, in my humble opinion. People are busy trying to raise their children in a world which no longer pays a “living” wage. The conscientious choirmaster must be aware of this reality.

Practical Advice • Since rehearsal time is severely limited during summertime, one might consider “shared hymn tunes.” For example, this was our PROCESSIONAL HYMN last Sunday:

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

And this was our RECESSIONAL HYMN (notice we added the Alto line):

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

Speaking of the Piano • Toward the beginning of this article, I spoke about how different the piano is from the violin. But the piano is an instrument I love very much, to which I dedicated years of my life. In my articles, I have often expressed my belief that JOSEF HOFMANN was the greatest pianist (and most phenomenal interpreter) who ever lived. Whenever Sergei Rachmaninoff would hear Hofmann play a piece, he would immediately drop it from his repertoire and never play it again. Hofmann’s level of talent was unfathomably mind-boggling, and words can’t describe it. As Abram Chasins said: “Compared to Hofmann, even the greatest pianists in the world sounded like students.” If you think I’m making this up, here are some people who share my opinion: Anton Rubinstein, Charles Welles Rosen, Mark Arnest, Olga Samaroff, Geoffrey Dorfman, Jorge Bolet, and Harold C. Schonberg.

Proof I’m Correct • Ruth Slenczynska was a famous prodigy who began giving public concerts (!) at the age of four. Her teachers included: Artur Schnabel, Egon Petri, Josef Hofmann, Isabelle Vengerova, Marguerite Long, Alfred Cortot, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Slenczynska’s debut took place in Berlin (at the age of six) and a year later she made her Paris debut with a full orchestra. Here’s what Ruth Slenczynska had to say about Josef Hofmann:

Once, Rachmaninoff was too sick to play a concert he had scheduled in Los Angeles. At the last minute, little Ruth Slenczynska—only nine years old—stepped in and played his concert for him. She played the exact program he was supposed to have played!

1 The information shared by Andrea Leal on 13 January 2023 was deeply troubling. But should we really be surprised? After all, G.I.A. PUBLICATIONS is owned and operated by a family that’s not Catholic. I don’t have anything to add to what Andrea published back in January. Especially disturbing was the video she shared from 2016 wherein the president of G.I.A. PUBLICATIONS said publicly: “I’ve had the honor to work with these three wonderful people [Marty Haugen, Michael Joncas, and David Haas] for more than 30 years, and I can’t overestimate the profound impact that they’ve all had for me personally, for everyone at G.I.A. PUBLICATIONS, and for the worshiping church at large.” What exactly does that mean? What precisely is this “profound impact” David Haas had on all their employees for 30+ years? When he says “he cannot overestimate” the influence David Haas had on all the employees, what precisely does that mean? It was recently revealed that exclusive publishing rights (!) were given to G.I.A. PUBLICATIONS vis-à-vis the new translation of the Liturgy of the Hours. Why was a non-Catholic company given exclusive copyright over the text of the Liturgy of the Hours? Why not make those texts free to all Catholics through a CREATIVE COMMONS license? It’s so disturbing I don’t wish to discuss it any further at this time.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Alec Harris GIA Publications, Common Hymn Melodies, Josef Hofmann Pianist Extraordinaire, Liturgy of the Hours, Ruth Slenczynska, THAXTED HYMN TUNE Last Updated: July 25, 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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

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

“Dom Pothier does not belong to the dim past, as the silence which surrounds his name would lead one to believe. Only a few years separate us from the time when—growing old and heavily burdened by trials—Dom Pothier was concentrating his ever keen attention on the study of manuscripts in the Belgian place of retreat where his community had found refuge. For he was the abbot; and there can be no doubt that the cross he wore during those days was a cross of sorrow, though he bore it with a smile.”

— Dom Ermin Vitry, OSB (31-OCT-1936)

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