How about Victoria's "Jesu Dulcis Memoria" and "O Magnum Mysterium" on the list?

I recall that JT and/or AOZ might have written an article about this some time ago. (In any case, their schola's site has links on the sidebar to several excellent titles. The site itself isn't updated much anymore, but the links are still good. It's a treasure trove, really!)

I'd add Palestrina's Sicut Cervus (PDF).

tomboysuze asked just the question I have: What do you mean by basic? Easy to prepare? Covering lots of bases? Communion and/or Offertorie motets ... or something else?

Or, put another way, what is not basic?

I am in the same position as you. Try Palestrina's Sicut Cervus. We are learning this one, it is taking time, but we will use it as the Psalm at the Easter Vigil. After Easter I will begin working on the O Magnum - Victoria for next Christmas. Biebl's Ave Maria is a good one too.

Another vote for Palestrina's Sicut Cervus and If Ye Love Me - Tallis. The Tallis is especially good if you want to work on that type of sound without working on the Latin yet. At least, those have worked for me.

O Magnum is coming along really well for Christmas here - Canadash, I did exactly that, worked on it since Easter. Finally.

Reviving this thread.

Tantum Ergo - Deodat Severac

Holy moly is this lovely.
So is the Duruflé Notre Père, which I promptly ordered. Stunning.

As I remarked to a friend yesterday after perusing a few of the unknowns (to me) on this list: it really baffles me that so many churches have such awful music when there is SO MUCH truly EXCELLENT music available in the public domain FOR FREE. It’s truly mind boggling how rich and deep our heritage of both choral and organ music is. And it sits languishing and abandoned by so many churches. There really is no excuse (perhaps apart from man power) as to why churches are replete with banal music.

Good music requires effort. Bad music doesn’t.

Good music requires effort. Bad music doesn’t.

If only this maxim was indeed true, perhaps we would have our answer… but the amount of effort I see “worship teams” put into terrible music can be pretty prolific at times. There are churches that will spend thousands on expensive AV and electronic musical equipment but won’t bother to pay for an organ (or organist). Can’t afford the money for handbells, but we can afford a 30k sound control board. Can’t pay to have the ciphers fixed on the organ (guess we won’t use it any more) but can pay to have GIA artists visit for a weekend workshop. Can’t afford hymnals but can buy a 5k industrial projector and have it professionally installed. See it time and again.

(Also, having to read different through-composed rhythms for every verse of a hymn (so called) is hardly “easy”.)

Noel Jones' collections are wonderful, and the CMAA has a new publication, forthcoming this fall in this regard: The Parish Book of Motets, newly typeset and edited by Dr. Aaron James, from the Toronto Oratory. It will be a fantastic collection, good editions, and include a few newly-commissioned pieces well-suited for amateur parish choirs.

but the amount of effort I see “worship teams” put into terrible music can be pretty prolific at times

I think what we are talking about is not necessarily the amount of devoted 'effort' as much as the amount of money and drive invested into amateur skill and equipment to bring it to a level of acceptability. Hollywood is the perfect example of how humanity can prop something up to a level of 'wow' while at the same time promoting dross that is supposed to be 'exceptional'.

Jenny, the news re: the new CMAA motet book is fantastic. Count me in.