Views from the Choir Loft

News Items / 14 February 2013

Corpus Christi Watershed · February 14, 2013

BELOW ARE A FEW NEWS ITEMS:

1. The New Oxford Review recently published an article about Joseph Chihwatenha [pdf], of great interest to those of us who love the Jesuit Martyrs of North America.

2. A remarkable and truly amazing statement [pdf] has been issued by His Excellency, Bishop Alexander K. Sample.

3. Here is an example of why such statements are needed:

4. Here is Bishop Robert Morlino on the Forthcoming Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI:

ITH THE REST of you, I woke this morning to learn of the shocking, but not altogether surprising, news that our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, is resigning his service as the successor of St. Peter, Bishop of Rome. His announcement brings me sadness personally, as he is a hero to me and a great shepherd for the Church. I first met the Holy Father as Cardinal Ratzinger in 1983. But knowing his decision was made after prudent consideration of the needs of the entire Church, and reflecting on his own human limitations, should bring us all a great deal of consolation. Pope Benedict has offered a tremendous act of humility and courage, for the good of the entire Church. He knows that, given the fast-paced world in which we live, his prayer is the best gift he can give each one of us as members of Christ’s Church. I know I speak for all faithful Catholics when I say, he is loved and he will be missed. Join me, and the faithful of the whole world, in prayer for Pope Benedict, during these last weeks of his papacy, and that God will grant him serenity, as he quietly leaves the See of Peter, and the world stage. We pray in thanksgiving for the clear wisdom, deep love, and profound holiness he gently brought to the Office of Pope these past eight years. We pray too that his successor, our next Holy Father, will truly be a chief shepherd of the Church according to the heart of Christ.

5. A quote by Felix Mendelssohn: “Gregorian chant is the best church music that can be written. I cannot understand how Catholics, with such beautiful music at hand, can tolerate at Mass compositions which are not even passably suitable, but outright distracting and operatic.” Mendelssohn, not a Catholic, was one of the greatest composers and a major prodigy. He died in 1847.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

“Music List” • (Christ the King Sunday)

This coming Sunday—24 November 2024—is Christ the King Sunday (a.k.a. “Final Sunday in Ordinary Time”). Some have expressed interest in perusing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. You’ll notice we’re learning Moreau’s “Congregational Polyphonic Enhancement” for the OUR FATHER. And the the Mode 3 ENTRANCE CHANT is utterly sublime.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • Christ the King

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Solemnity of Christ the King (24 November 2024). It mimics the Mode III Latin version in a truly spectacular way. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • (33rd Sund. Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday—17 November 2024—is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Some have expressed interest in perusing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. You’ll notice we’re learning Moreau’s “Congregational Polyphonic Enhancement” for the OUR FATHER. For the record, our opening hymn is particularly beautiful. So is the Mode 6 ENTRANCE CHANT.

—Jeff Ostrowski

The Breviary in the Life of the Laity

Recently I have been enjoying looking through the inaugural (1927) edition of a 20th-century liturgical magazine called Orate Fratres. The July 1927 issue included an excellent article by a Chicago laywoman named Ellen Gates Starr entitled “The Delights of the Breviary: From the Point of View of a Lay Woman.” As we in the 21st century have recently undergone a (blessed!) re-translation of the missal into English, and as we await with joyful hope (please God, before Jesus comes back!) a similar re-translation of the breviary, the opening of her article reminded me of that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Nearly a hundred years ago, she penned words that could just as easily have been written today: “It is indeed a privilege to be allowed any participation, however slight, in the liturgical movement in the Church – the movement to bring back the classics of devotion, the Missal and the Breviary, into general use by the laity. The wonder is that they should ever have fallen into disuse. Nothing can take the place of these great universal prayers of the Church, the prayers of the Mass and the divine Office. One has only to know them to find them indispensable. And alas, how few of the laity know them!” I know that I have been tremendously nourished by regular praying of the breviary as of late, and my wish is that you and I, dear reader, may continue to nourish our interior lives with the official prayer of the Church, which present to us (in the Mass) and extend (in the Office) the fullness of Christ’s greatest gift to us – the gift of Himself – in the Most Holy Eucharist.

—Daniel Tucker

Principles vs Preferences

I ran into this idea recently: principles vs. preferences in planning out a curriculum or music lineup. In this idea, it is imperative to not misconstrue personal preferences into principles—that the music (or subject matter) is great because: “I have good taste, and I like it.” De gustibus… Education, study and docility to the Magisterium of the Church on matters of liturgical music must be present in those who make the music at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Hours. Who knows? Maybe you might start to prefer the music that is fitting according to the principles Catholic Sacred Music?

—William J. Fritz

Liquescent Notes in the Official Edition

The official edition—the EDITIO VATICANA itself—is somewhat inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes. If you wish to see a perfect “apples-to-apples” comparison, click here. Such “inconsistency” was not owing to ignorance on the part of Abbat Pothier: the manuscripts themselves are inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes.

—Jeff Ostrowski