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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

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

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ with regard to 1960s switch to vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

It is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day.

— Pope Francis (13 January 2014)

Recent Posts

  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
  • “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
  • Involving Women in the Communion?
  • “Toward a More Sacred Style With Pastoral Charity” • Guest Article by Dr. Myrna Keough

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