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 · May 12, 2013

Round Yon Virgin

Mother & Child

Fr. David Friel · May 9, 2013

Ascension

Raising Our Minds & Hearts to God

Fr. David Friel · May 8, 2013

Celibacy

Are We Beyond This?

Fr. David Friel · May 6, 2013

An Inverted Culture

The Perils of Modernity

Fr. David Friel · May 5, 2013

In This Time Above All

Lauding God Yet More Gloriously

Fr. David Friel · April 28, 2013

Sacrificing Ourselves

The New Commandment

Fr. David Friel · April 21, 2013

Faith Seeking Understanding

Anselm of Canterbury

Fr. David Friel · April 19, 2013

Luke’s Second Book

High Drama

Fr. David Friel · April 17, 2013

Acts of the Apostles

“They Could Not Withstand the Wisdom & Spirit with Which He Spoke”

Fr. David Friel · April 14, 2013

Shouting Our Faith from the Rooftops

Suffering for the Sake of the Name

Fr. David Friel · April 7, 2013

Jesus Returns

Peace Be with You

Fr. David Friel · April 1, 2013

Easter Monday

What Do Priests Do?

Fr. David Friel · March 31, 2013

He Saw & Believed

The Beloved Disciple & the Virtue of Faith

Fr. David Friel · March 29, 2013

Feeling the Absence

The Experience of Good Friday

Fr. David Friel · March 24, 2013

The “Basically Good Person”

And the Work of the Devil

Lectionary Errors

If you look at the official Responsorial Psalm (PDF) for this coming Sunday, you’ll notice the current Lectionary has the wrong refrain. Why is this a big deal? Why even mention such a thing? Everybody makes mistakes, right? Here’s why it matters. The USCCB—which makes money by selling the sacred liturgical texts—has historically been ruthless when it comes to such matters. When various publishers point out errors to them, their response has been: “If you dare to correct the error, we’ll sue you.” These errors are not a matter of nuance; e.g. sometimes the previous (English) edition of the Lectionary got them right! Bottom Line: mandatory, indulgenced, liturgical texts shouldn’t be sold; they should be freely available to all Catholics.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • SABT Enhancement (“Our Father”)

If you direct music in the ORDINARY FORM, you’ll want to download this free PDF as fast as humanly possible. While in Europe last summer, Veronica discovered this breathtaking “polyphonic enhancement” for the Lord’s Prayer. The congregation sings their part as normal, while the choir “weaves” SATB harmonies around them. My choir is definitely going to use this!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • Sunday (17 Nov. 2024)

Download the Entrance Antiphon in English for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (17 November 2024). It’s in mode 6—which some consider the “mode of peace”—and mimics the authentic version in a splendid and gorgeous 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

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

Final Sundays after Pentecost

For those of us at a traditional Latin Mass, it’s that time of year when the sung propers for each Sunday repeat until the end of the liturgical year. What to do with the portion of your mid-week rehearsal that you normally devote to the next Sunday’s propers? I like to get a head start on propers for upcoming December feasts. We always sing Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 because she’s co-patroness of our diocese, and we sing a Rorate Mass in addition to Immaculate Conception. There’s also the first Sunday of Advent; it often follows Thanksgiving by a few days and we don’t rehearse on Thanksgiving. In short, there’s no reason to get bored at this time of year!

—Keven Smith

Parallel Fifths In Plainsong Accompaniment?

Parallel 5ths are forbidden in Baroque music and Classical music. However, plainsong accompaniment has its own rules and modal style. The great masters sometimes even wrote parallel sevenths! Instances of parallel fifths are too numerous to list in the Nova Organi Harmonia by the LEMMENSINSTITUUT. For example, consider this one. But one must possess a certain expertise to employ them properly. By the way, if you wish to see double parallel fifths, click here.

—Jeff Ostrowski