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Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Father Friel • Article Archive

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.—(Read full biography).

Fr. David Friel · January 2, 2025

In Memoriam • Dr. William Mahrt

A brilliant and faithful man who had tasted heaven in the chants of the Church

Fr. David Friel · July 20, 2024

Society for Catholic Liturgy Conference 2024

Hosted in Houston, this conference will explore “Liturgy and the Human Imagination.”

Fr. David Friel · April 7, 2024

Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2024

Teaching Children the Fundamentals of Music

Fr. David Friel · March 23, 2024

Book Review: Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence

Becoming Missionaries for the Beautiful

Fr. David Friel · March 20, 2023

Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2023

The Ward Method is a classical pedagogy designed for pre-K through eighth grade music classes in Catholic schools.

Fr. David Friel · July 24, 2022

Free Folio of New Sacred Music for Parish Liturgies

A gift from The Catholic Sacred Music Project and the Benedict XVI Institute

Fr. David Friel · May 17, 2022

Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2022

Study the Ward Method this summer in Washington, DC.

Fr. David Friel · January 9, 2022

Introductory Latin Courses • Veterum Sapientia Institute

Opportunities to be immersed in Latin are still available this spring.

Fr. David Friel · May 13, 2021

The Ascension Depicted in the Rabbula Gospel Book

This is one of the earliest Christian manuscripts to be illuminated with (the oxymoronic) “large miniatures.”

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Fr. David Friel · May 9, 2021

Virtual Sacred Music Colloquium 2021

Alongside many familiar faces, several new presenters are joining the faculty this year.

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Fr. David Friel · May 2, 2021

Summer Course in the Ward Method

CUA is pleased to announce that this week-long intensive course will be offered in person this summer.

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Fr. David Friel · April 25, 2021

The Greater Litanies & the Meaning of Liturgical Processions

Processing is one way in which we express who we are as wayfarers en route to heaven.

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Fr. David Friel · March 29, 2021

Vesting Prayers • Part 9 of 9

The Dalmatic

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Fr. David Friel · March 16, 2021

Spring Lecture Series • Society for Catholic Liturgy

Three virtual lectures have just been announced by the SCL.

Fr. David Friel · March 13, 2021

Holy Week Chants • Clergy Training

An introduction to the English chants of Holy Week for clergy

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Season’s End Repertoire
    Looking at the REPERTOIRE SHEET until the end of the choral season, I see that I’ve fallen behind schedule. (The last three months have been extraordinarily busy.) As you know, I have been providing organ harmonies for all the ENTRANCE CHANTS—as well as rehearsal videos—and you can see I’m behind where I planned to be. Now I must make up lost ground. However, the choir picks up the ENTRANCE CHANT with ease, so I’m sure it will all work out. My ‘unofficial’ harmonizations are being posted each week at the flourishing feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Funeral Procession”
    From a mediæval Book of Hours, I was sent this glorious depiction of a Roman Catholic funeral procession by Simon Bening (d. 1561). The image resolution is extremely high. I’m not sure I know of a more beautiful illustration of a mediæval church. And I love how the servers are wearing red and pink cassocks!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Accomp. • Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”
    Sometimes the organist must simultaneously serve as the CANTOR. (Those who work in the field of church music know exactly what I’m talking about.) One of our contributors composed this simplified keyboard accompaniment for Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” a piece which is frequently requested for Catholic funerals and weddings. In terms of the discussion about whether that piece is too theatrical (‘operatic’) for use in Church, I will leave that discussion to others. All I know is, many church musicians out there will appreciate this simplified version.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    PDF Download • “Anima Christi”
    I received a request for an organ accompaniment I created way back in 2007 for the “Anima Christi” Gregorian Chant. You can download this PDF file which has the score in plainsong followed by a keyboard accompaniment. Many melodies have been paired with “Anima Christi” over the centuries, but this is—perhaps—the most common one.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Liturgical Law” (467 Pages)
    On Good Friday during the middle ages, the pope privately recited THE ENTIRE PSALTER. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself by reading this passage by Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen (d. 1943). His famous book—called “Liturgical Law: A Handbook Of The Roman Liturgy”—was published by the Benjamin Herder Book Company, which was the American arm (operating out of St. Louis, Missouri) of one of the world’s most significant Catholic publishers. Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen was born in Switzerland but spent his career between the Benedictine monasteries at Conception (Missouri) and Mount Angel (Oregon). His 1931 masterpiece, Liturgical Law can be downloaded as a PDF file … 467 pages!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026
    How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

If then Dom Pothier has sometimes adapted authentic melodies found elsewhere in the manuscripts to texts of the Mass it is not, as Mr. X. maintains, because he has “composed them from scratch and declared them as traditional.”

— Most Rev’d Henri Laurent Janssens (25 November 1905)

Recent Posts

  • “Translating the Bible” • Msgr. Ronald Knox (1953)
  • Season’s End Repertoire
  • PDF Download • “Funeral Procession”
  • Re: The “Correct” Way To Sing Gregorian Chant
  • PDF Download • Ascension “Entrance Chant”

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