HE DIRECTOR of music at Saint Paul’s Catholic Church wrote to us on 24 January 2024: “Are there SATB harmonizations for the hymns in the Brébeuf hymnal?” Her name is WENDY Q. and she has a master’s degree in music. (In order to preserve privacy, we usually don’t reveal the full names of correspondents.) Let me say to Wendy: “The answer to your question is an enthusiastic yes.” Moreover, both the keyboard accompaniment volumes and the choral supplement were done in response to a worldwide movement among organists: viz. No More Stacked Lyrics.
“No More Stacked Lyrics” • Lyric stacking has major disadvantages. (If you’re confused about what lyric “stacking” is click here.) For example, when the keyboard player simultaneously serves as CANTOR, it’s virtually impossible to play all the notes correctly while attempting to sing “stacked” lyrics—especially if the hymn is unfamiliar, once you get past the first few verses. The Brébeuf Hymnal has solved this problem once and for all as you can see.
Photo For Wendy • Wendy, below is a photograph showing the interior of the choral supplement (which is 1,192 pages long):
Gorgeous Tenor line • I’m not sure a more gorgeous, haunting, thrilling tenor line exists than #741 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. The text was composed by the founder of the Anglican Ordinariate:
To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.
Jeff Feels Sad • Believe it or not, rehearsal videos for each individual voice are available at that URL link (provided above) inside the hymn portal. Those videos require hours to create, but most readers won’t click on them—and that makes me disconsolate.
