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.”
Time flies! Back in July, I posted a PDF setting of a perfect canon by William Byrd (d. 1623) arranged as an AGNUS DEI for three voices. Last Sunday, we sang that arrangement with our volunteer choir. To hear a ‘live’ recording of it, click here (Mp3). In my humble opinion, this would be a perfect […]
Jeff Ostrowski provides five (5) responses to an assertion made by a priest.
My Mass setting for the Ordinary Form involves your Congregation, your Cantrix, and your Choir.
“Please don’t get cocky and think of your methods as somehow innately superior or universally and inarguably superior in their benefits.” —Email from a Reader
“The ‘Lamb of God’ can reach the length of a baseball game.” —Cardinal Dolan
I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” […]
My setting begins with the entire congregation singing—but the middle section is SATB polyphony.
This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday after Pentecost (EF).
Including a tip on preventing choirs from ‘sinking’ the pitch lower and lower.
Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire […]
Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on […]
Twenty-five years ago, if you’d told me I would end up as an organist, I would have laughed. But God seems to have had a different plan! I intend to record every hymn in the Brébeuf Hymnal on the pipe organ (if our Savior gives me the time and energy). You can hear my first recording […]
Everything’s going great, until you start playing…
I will let you in on a secret!
Make sure to click on the recent article by Dr. Charles Weaver, because he links to something remarkable. In essence, it’s a list—written by William Byrd!—regarding why we should sing.
