Views from the Choir Loft

Gregorian Chant Accompaniments

PDF Download • “Ave Maris Stella” (Organ Accompaniment)

Jeff Ostrowski · February 4, 2020 ·

The 2nd part has blank staves, so you can compose your own harmonies!

PDF Download • “Lucis Creator Optime” (Vespers Hymn)

Jeff Ostrowski · January 21, 2020 ·

I followed the “Brébeuf hymnal method,” in which every verse is written out…

Acompañamientos • MISAL ROMANO, Tercera Edición

Richard J. Clark · October 19, 2018 ·

Free Download of two sets of accompaniments for chants of the new Misal Romano, Tercera Edición.

Easy Organ Hymns for Catholics

Veronica Brandt · January 3, 2015 ·

There is a built in tendency for nervous musicians to rush things – I think as your heart beats faster, your perception of time is dilated. As you build more confidence your sense of timing improves too.

Colloquium Update II

Fr. David Friel · July 4, 2014 ·

Resources for Accompanying Gregorian Chant

Thirteen (13) Organ Accompaniments to “Missa de Angelis” (Mass VIII)

St. Edmund Campion Missal and Hymnal · April 25, 2014 ·

Free PDF downloads for “Mass of the Angels” organ accompaniments.

1907 Biography of Giulio Bas

Corpus Christi Watershed · January 19, 2014 ·

Giulio Bas was best known for his Gregorian accompaniments.

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