“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)
Dr. Aaron James, who earned a double doctorate, has stated publicly that the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal does a wonderful job explaining—by means of gorgeous color plates—the difference between the “Pre-Urbanite” hymns and those which were modified by Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644). Dr. James calls the Brébeuf treatment of the urbanite reform “a […]
December is here! That means I must issue a monthly reminder to all: please subscribe to our free mailing list! It couldn’t be easier: (a) Go to any article; (b) Scroll to the bottom; (c) Enter your email address. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment; we have no major […]
“I can’t thank you enough for that four-part download of the Graduale with 5 lines. That is absolutely brilliant! Since I and another guy from the choir chant the Traditional Propers every Sunday, it has proven to be an invaluable resource. Great job of scanning it, too.” —Email received this morning from S.M.D.
Those who accompany VESPERS FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT may wish to download this draft copy. It’s the organ accompaniment I use, since my parish has Vespers (in the Extraordinary Form) with our congregation each Sunday afternoon. It looks pretty ‘junky’ but it gets the job done. Someday I hope to make a much […]
We have posted many articles discussing the French Vs. German way of interpreting syllabic plainsong—which some refer to as “Trochee Trouble.” Needless to say, we encourage everyone to carefully read all those articles. But some folks still don’t understand what “Trochee Trouble” is all about. Therefore, I have created this 1-Page Sheet that explains it […]
My volunteer choir has felt the repercussions of this year’s (particularly severe) flu season. Nevertheless, I believe in always—always—giving one’s best as a choir director, even when many singers are absent. You can hear by this brief recording that our singers are starting to blend very nicely. And you can download that choral “warm-up” exercise […]
Have you marked your calendar for Sacred Music Symposium 2023? The dates were recently revealed. You don’t want to miss this! This annual event has gained a reputation as the church music conference par excellence vis-à-vis Catholic musicians “in the trenches.”
By the Incarnation, our Savior’s divinity was hidden. In the Eucharist, according to Saint Thomas Aquinas, our Savior also ‘hides’ His manhood. We cannot see God—although we can see Him (through faith) in the SANCTISSIMUM, in the eyes of the poor, in the grandeur of the mountains, and so forth. Hymn #746 in the Brébeuf […]
You can evaluate my attempt to record this Sunday’s INTROIT according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church. This INTROIT is very well known because it’s repeated over and over at the end of the year, depending on how many Sundays after Pentecost occur in a particular year.
Monthly reminder to all: please subscribe to our free mailing list! It couldn’t be easier: (a) Go to any article; (b) Scroll to the bottom; (c) Enter your email address. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment; we have no major donors; we run no advertisements; we have no savings. […]
I have attempted to record the Introit for the Feast of Christ the King according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church. You can view the YouTube recording of my attempt. Traditionally, our Savior’s “kingship” was celebrated as part of the Epiphany—but in 1925, Pope Pius XI created the “feast of Christ the King” […]
Good morning! My name is […] and I write to you from Chile. Just a short note to say: thank you for your wonderful website “Corpus Christi Watershed.” As a Catholic organist, I truly appreciate the marvelous work you have done. Your website is a tremendous library open to everyone. Thanks so much, and God […]
I can’t think of better way to learn Gregorian chant than to download this 651-page PDF file, containing the marvelous Gregorian Vesperale (1915) by Father Karl Weinmann (d. 1929) printed on five lines. If you accompany Vespers directly from the plainsong notation, this makes life easy! It’s also fun to compare the Gregorian chant inside […]
Our Schola Cantorum members prefer to hear recordings of chants we’re learning. This morning I attempted this recording of the INTROIT for this coming Sunday, which is the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. My voice was groggy, but I suppose we singers can’t expect to have a recording studio follow us around all day waiting for […]
On 22 November 1963, Pope Paul VI established the “Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae.” On 16 July 1966, the Vatican reiterated that the Consociatio was “the only international association of sacred music approved by the Holy See.” It’s very difficult—at least for me—to figure out what happened to that organization, and whether it still exists. One […]
“My name is *******. I wanted to share with you my thoughts on your recent blog post. I was very displeased with this article. […] I’ve have been a supporter of the Latin Mass since I was 14 years old. I’m now 26 and a seminarian; and I very much hope (in the near future) […]
Download my “choir warm-up” at this link. Have your singers pause on different chords. As choirmaster, see if you can identify each seventh chord in real time (and which position it’s in). You can hear my volunteer choir attempting this. You will notice that we still have work to do, because the singers must be […]
Alonso Lobo (1555-1617) started out as an assistant to Father Guerrero (d. 1599). In the book by Stevenson—which I never grow tired of praising—we find this wonderful excerpt which provides fascinating details vis-à-vis musical performance circa 1600AD. I like how it says that on Easter the prosa “must be the one composed by Morales.”
Why do hymns in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal give so many optional “text only” versions of the hymns? It’s easier to demonstrate than explain. Consider Hymn #24, which allows the director to choose a wonderful melody and easily apply it to the text. Hymnal editors knew about the value of “text only” versions […]
If you enjoy eavesdropping, here’s a rehearsal excerpt (mp3) of my volunteers singing the exercise I posted last week. This is the second time we’ve used it, and I can definitely hear improvement. You can download this choral warm-up for free.