Views from the Choir Loft

Compline

How to Install Compline in Your Home

Veronica Brandt · March 30, 2019 ·

A first step to planting the timeless prayer of the Universal Church in your home. Plus a four part setting of the prayer just because.

Compline Online with Chant Notation

Veronica Brandt · October 22, 2016 ·

A handy online copy of Compline according to the 1962 liturgical books dynamically adapting to the day of the week, feast or feria and looks great on small screen mobile devices.

What Will ICEL Do Next?

Fr. David Friel · November 23, 2014 ·

Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth gives details on what ICEL is doing now that the Roman Missal project has been completed.

Working on a Compline booklet

Veronica Brandt · April 12, 2014 ·

A booklet for Compline, 95% finished, ready for Holy Week.

Interleaving Latin and English on the page

Veronica Brandt · January 4, 2014 ·

Most books place Latin and English in parallel columns or on facing pages. Let’s look at the less common approach of interverse translations.

Tonight, pray Compline for the Holy Souls

Veronica Brandt · November 2, 2013 ·

After many years, I finally type up the psalms for Compline of All Souls’ Day in Latin and English.

Singing the Divine Office before and after Mass

Veronica Brandt · September 14, 2013 ·

Singing Terce before and Sext after Sunday Mass and Compline after weeknight Masses. A new book with everything you need according to the Monastic Office with English translations.

At home it doesn’t have to be perfect

Veronica Brandt · July 6, 2013 ·

Singing from the Liturgy of the Hours at home is beautiful treasure to share with your family.

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