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Corpus Christi Watershed

“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

PDF Download • SATB “Kyrie” for Small Choirs

Jeff Ostrowski · May 20, 2024

OT INFREQUENTLY, composers send me emails saying something akin to the following: “I’ve written tons of choral music, but very few choirs want to perform it. Would you be willing to have your choir perform my music?” One composer from Great Britain told me that no choirs in England are interested in singing “serious” music—by which he meant his compositions.1 He desperately wanted to know whether American choirs such as mine would be willing to sing from his oeuvre, even offering me a “reward” (viz. a CD recording of him performing his compositions on the piano).

Problematic • I believe such emails are problematic. First of all, the music they send me is often “chordally composed.” That is, the composer has in mind a particular chord and [ab]uses the other voices to “fill in” each chord. The music of the masters is quite different. As I discuss at great length during my seminar, great composers employ numerous resplendent techniques: Ostinato, Counter-Exposition, Inversion, Augmentation, and so forth. Furthermore, the true masters of choral composition (Guerrero, Palestrina, Morales, Marenzio, Zoilo, Victoria, etc.) do something amazing: they make each line special. Each line has rhythmic variety, good melodic contours, lines that “stand up” on their own, and so forth.

Brief Kyrie • I recently created rehearsal videos for a wonderful KYRIE by Father Francisco Guerrero, a Catholic priest who studied with Father Cristóbal de Morales. Freely download the PDF scores and rehearsal videos by following these links:

KYRIE “Part 1 of 3” = #33188
KYRIE “Part 2 of 3” = #33918
KYRIE “Part 3 of 3” = #34761

Here’s how section 1 of 3 sounds:

Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #33188.

Jeff Feeling Downcast • Most readers won’t follow those links. As a result, they’ll be deprived of the PDF scores. They’ll also miss out on the rehearsal videos for each individual voice, which took many hours to create. By the way, this KYRIE by Father Guerrero is from a Mass setting called Missa Puer Qui Natus Est Nobis Plus Quam Propheta Est, in honor of Saint John the Baptist.

Problematic (Cont’d) • There’s yet another reason why such emails are problematic—in my humble opinion. Composers shouldn’t spend their time begging and pleading people to perform their oeuvre. Conductors should want to perform one’s music; they should be drawn to it. Moreover, that time and energy could instead be dedicated toward the study of counterpoint or (even better) training choirs which sing for the sacred liturgy in real life. The Church desperately needs choirs. When I studied at the conservatory more than 20 years ago, a composer on the faculty was obsessed with “avant-garde” music. This elderly man didn’t realize composers like John Cage, Erik Satie, Arnold Schoenberg, Pierre Boulez, Lukas Foss, Henryk Górecki, Philip Glass, George Crumb, Elliott Carter, and Edgard Varèse were already “old news.” It never caught on; it never found an audience. Nobody listens to such music in the car! Anyhow, that composer literally went around the country paying (!) ensembles to perform his music. If you have to pay ensembles to perform your music, you’re doing something wrong as a composer.

1 For the record, I highly doubt that “no choirs in England” are interested in singing serious music!

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Missa Puer Qui Natus Est Nobis Plus Quam Propheta Est, Piecemeal Polyphony, Pieces For Small Choirs Last Updated: May 20, 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

    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
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —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

“I have devoted myself too much, I think, to Bach, to Mozart and to Liszt. I wish now that I could emancipate myself from them. Schumann is no use to me any more, Beethoven only with an effort and strict selection. Chopin has attracted and repelled me all my life; and I have heard his music too often—prostituted, profaned, vulgarized … I do not know what to choose for a new repertory!”

— Ferruccio Busoni (to a colleague in 1922, when he was 56 years old)

Recent Posts

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