Views from the Choir Loft

Propers Ignatius Press by Fr Samuel Weber

Sacred Music US • Website for Fr. Weber’s Resources

Fr. David Friel · March 31, 2019 ·

A website exists to disseminate Fr. Samuel Weber’s sacred music resources

A Criticism & Good News

Fr. David Friel · April 26, 2015 ·

Another Look at Fr. Weber’s “The Proper of the Mass”

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 7 of 7

Jeff Ostrowski · April 22, 2015 ·

Let’s take a stroll down Memory Lane, shall we?

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 5 of 7

Andrew Leung · April 21, 2015 ·

Musicians are naturally attracted to beautiful things; and a beautiful chant book encourages singers to make use of the book.

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 6 of 7

Lucas Tappan · April 21, 2015 ·

If I were to use English settings of the Propers of the Mass, this would be my go-to book!

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 4 of 7

Fr. David Friel · April 19, 2015 ·

The Next Big Thing Is Here

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 3 of 7

Veronica Brandt · April 18, 2015 ·

We have the treasury of sacred music to steer us. We have computers to help adapt scores to suit our choirs. And now we have an excellent resource which provides ready made adaptations of the Propers.

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 2 of 7

Richard J. Clark · April 17, 2015 ·

That this resource—and a flood of new ones—are becoming available, points to a new awakening in the Church.

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 1 of 7

Andrew R. Motyka · April 15, 2015 ·

Fr. Samuel Weber is undoubtedly one of the modern masters of setting English chant.

First Look Images! • “Proper Of The Mass” By Fr. Samuel F. Weber

Jeff Ostrowski · April 9, 2015 ·

This 1,292 page book is much thinner than I had anticipated.

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

Had the Church never spoken on this matter, it would still be repugnant to our Catholic people’s sense of what is fit and proper in the holiest of places, that a priest should have to struggle through the prayers of the Holy Mass, because of such tunes as “Alice, where art thou?” the “Vacant Chair,” and others of more vulgar title, which, through the carelessness or bad judgment of organists, sometimes find their way into our choirs.

— Preface to a Roman Catholic Hymnal (1896)