Views from the Choir Loft

New Edition of Chabanel Responsorial Psalms • Edition: 12 May 2014 — Organist & Vocalist

HE NEW EDITIONS of the Chabanel Psalms include Holy Days, like the Presentation (2 Feb), Transfiguration (6 Aug), Ss. Peter & Paul (29 June), and many more!

Save money with this Lulu Coupon—but notice the expiration date.

ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENTS :

* * PDF Download (401 pages)

* * Buy Spiral Bound (401-pages) $25.99

VOCALIST :

* * PDF Download (206 pages)

* * Buy Perfect Bound (206-pages) $12.99

If you’re terrified of the ordering process, click here.

These new editions (12 May 2014) correspond to the St. Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal, Lectionary, & Gradual, but are virtually identical to Responsorial Psalms found in the Vatican II Hymnal, except the following:

— 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A
— 1st Sunday of Lent, Year C
— Ascension of the Lord, Years ABC
— 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
— 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C (Option 2)
— Christ the King Sunday, Year C
— Nativity of St. John the Baptist (24 June), Years ABC
— All Saints (1 November), Years ABC
— Immaculate Conception (8 December), Years ABC
— Catholic Weddings (Nuptial Mass)
— Catholic Funerals (Requiem Mass)
— Sacrament of Confirmation (Ritual Mass)

Organists will love the total lack of page turns and appreciate the various transpositions included. Choirmasters will be happy each vocalist score fits on one (1) page, so xerox copies can be made easily if needed.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski