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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Eucharistic Hymn With Gorgeous Tenor Line

Jeff Ostrowski · January 26, 2024

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):

*  Sample Page • CHORAL SUPPLEMENT

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.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Anglican Ordinariate, Brebeuf SATB Harmonies, Eucharistic Hymn SATB, Keyboard Accompaniment Brebeuf Hymnal, SATB voice parts Last Updated: January 29, 2024

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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

    “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
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —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

“Except the psalms or canonical Scriptures of the new and old Testaments, nothing composed poetically shall be sung in church, as the holy canons command.”

— ‘Council of Braga, 563AD’

Recent Posts

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