Solesmes Abbey Exiled

Jeff Ostrowski · January 5, 2023

“Solesmes Method” • Where was it developed?

Father Ralph March wrote: “If any single man could deserve the title father of the renewed chant it would be Dom Joseph Pothier.”

The End Is Coming!

As we approach the end of each liturgical year, something remarkable happens. A preponderance of the INTROITS—a.k.a. Entrance Chants—are set in the rather “spooky” or “haunting” Mode iii or Mode iv. I can’t help but wonder if this is Holy Mother Church reminding us of our own end.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (27th Sund. Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday—6 October 2024—is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Some have expressed interest in seeing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“In Feriis Per Annum” • Kýrie Eléison

For years I’d been meaning to harmonize the famous KYRIE SIMPLEX—but I never got the opportunity until today. Feel free to download the PDF score if you wish. It is “Kyrie XVI,” which in the old books bore the title In Feriis Per Annum.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Finding New Motets

It strikes me that many of the best motets my choir sings are ones I found by accident. These are motets that popped up as YouTube suggestions, or that someone mentioned in a Facebook thread and I casually gave them a listen. The lesson? Be open to finding good sacred music even when you're not desperately searching for something to sing at Christmas.

—Keven Smith

Mass • “Singing” Vs. “Reciting”

This past week, as I was cantoring one morning, I forgot to turn on the microphone which delayed the “Holy, Holy” about 2-3 seconds. The congregation started to recite the text and made it about halfway through while I was still singing the third Holy. Once everyone realized I was chanting, they joined in, but one thing stuck out very profoundly: singing the Mass slows us down and lets us savor the words of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We went from routine & rote to reverent & rapt instantly. That single change made clear that those present were able to enter more deeply into the reality of the Mass itself—and isn't that one of our highest callings as musicians?

—William J. Fritz

This Coming Sunday’s Resp. Psalm

Visit the feasts website and examine the Responsorial Psalm REFRAIN for this coming Sunday [6-OCT-2024] which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Compare the official text (in Latin) to the “translation” given in the Spanish Lectionary. You’ll see the translators got it completely wrong. The 1970s “translations” by ICEL were notoriously heinous. Are those responsible for translating the Lectionary into Spanish striving to outdo them? Almost every psalm I’ve examined contains at least one major error.

—Jeff Ostrowski