Organ Accompaniment for Campion Missal and Hymnal

by Jeff Ostrowski

Last week, 800 pages of organ accompaniments for the Campion Missal & Hymnal began shipping. Before long, the SATB scores will also become available. Using these large, easy-to-read organist scores, parish musicians can provide accompaniment for all the music found in the Campion book (Ordinarium Missae, Hymns in English & Latin, Simple Gregorian Chants). Here is the URL address to purchase these accompaniments:

     *  Organ Accompaniments • St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal

The following is an abbreviated description for each volume:

ORGANIST VOLUME I  •  388 pages long, spiral bound.
This book contains three (3) different harmonizations of the the Gregorian Kyriale:
          1.) Achille P. Bragers, LOW KEY;
          2.) Carlo Rossini, MIDDLE KEY;
          3.) Flor Peeters et al., HIGH KEY.

ORGANIST VOLUME II  •  374 pages long, spiral bound.
This book contains four (4) sections. The chant accompaniments were done by Henri Potiron, Julius Bas, and others. Information given on the Vaticana chant rhythm also applies to Volume I.
          1.) Organ accompaniments for all hymns in the Campion Hymnal;
          2.) Transpositions & alternate harmonizations for many hymns;
          3.) Information on interpreting the Editio Vaticana rhythm;
          4.) Organ accompaniments for the “Simple Chants” in the Campion Hymnal.

The Nova Organi Harmonia accompaniments were created during World War II by faculty members of the Lemmens Institute (Belgium): namely, Flor Peeters, Msgr. Jules Van Nuffel, Msgr. Jules Vyverman, Marinus de Jong, Gustaaf Nees, Henri Durieux, and Edgard de Laet.  Achille P. Bragers, born in Belgium but famous in America, also studied at the Lemmens Institute, as you can see in Bragers' biography (PDF article).  Carlo Rossini, famous for his "Psalm Tones," was a priest musician who worked in Philadelphia (and, later, Rome).