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Views from the Choir Loft

Jeff Ostrowski • Article Archive

A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He completed studies in Education and Musicology at the graduate level. Having worked as a church musician in Los Angeles for ten years, in 2024 he accepted a position as choirmaster for Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Michigan, where he resides with his wife and children. —Read full biography (with photographs).

Jeff Ostrowski · September 24, 2019

Brébeuf Review! • “Society for Catholic Liturgy”

“The editors of the Brébeuf Hymnal have done a great service to the profession.” —Aaron James, Ph.D.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 20, 2019

PDF Download • Palestrina Kyrie “Fons Bonitatis”

This is part 1 of 3 — and the other parts will be released soon.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 16, 2019

“Dies Irae” • Why Does It Appear In So Many Movies?

Veronica Brandt wrote about this in 2014. This morning, VOX made her article into a YouTube.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 13, 2019

($54,000 per year) • FSSP San Diego Seeks Choirmaster

It seems Fr. Lyons offered the position to a candidate who later decided not to accept.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 11, 2019

“How To Begin Choir Practice” • (A Suggestion)

How one *begins* a rehearsal is crucial.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 11, 2019

Photographs • Père Daniel Kyriale (126 pages)

The beauty of the Gregorian Kyriale cannot be stopped—and Saint Antoine Daniel is the perfect patron for this!

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 10, 2019

PDF Download • “Alleluia Choral Extension” (EF + OF)

This may look simple on paper, but it sounds *incredible* when sung by a full choir. Guerrero rocks!

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 9, 2019

When People Lie About Hymns Unwittingly

As a young man, I came into contact with an organist who claimed there was no such thing as a “Recessional,” insisting that I was wrong and foolish to use that term.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 7, 2019

Revealed! • A Fascinating Mass Rubric Very Few Know

“How surprised people would be next Sunday to see the direction being carried out!” —1943 article

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 4, 2019

Do You Know Credo VII ??

A wonderful medieval Credo, published with “Imprimatur” from 1924.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 3, 2019

The 1961 Code of Rubrics • Pope St. John XXIII

I would not argue with someone who called this document curious, or even bizarre; it was only in effect for a few years • Also: “Should the Sanctus and Benedictus be split in the Traditional Latin Mass?” • This “Extraordinary Form” question is treated meticulously with full documentation going back 150 years+

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 2, 2019

PDF Download • Handy Solfège Chart (Printable)

I have no idea whether this will be of use to anyone, but here it is…

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 2, 2019

I. Was. Dead. Wrong.

Setting the record straight.

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 19, 2019

Brébeuf #182 • “Creator Alme Siderum” (Advent)

Most people know this one as “Creator of the stars of night.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 16, 2019

Symposium 2019 • “Video Outtakes”

Like any other human, I go through difficult times—this conference was a source of strength.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Calling Dr. Weaver!

    A remarkable exposition of the “mora vocis” (published in 1953 in the Netherlands) which doesn’t shy away from a certain item!

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

    Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
    The sumptuous melody called “JESU LEIDEN PEIN UND TOD” appears no fewer than three times in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal and is harmonized with standard Common Practice Era SATB voice leading and harmonies (which is only natural). However, one who takes the time to examine what Sebastian Bach did with that tune will encounter an incredibly dissonant sound. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more dissonant sound—in the entire Baroque era—than what I highlighted in yellow on that excerpt. Please let me know if you disagree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    ‘Ould’ But Not Good
    Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026
    A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Time and Again We Are Asked…
    John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceedingly swift and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat.”

— ‘Dr. Domingos Pinto Coelho, noted lawyer from Lisbon and chairman of the Bar Association (1917)’

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Roman Catholic Music in England from 1850–1962” — Lengthy Dissertation (402 pages)
  • Why I Never Write Articles for Corpus Christi Watershed Anymore
  • Calling Dr. Weaver!
  • “A Catholic Choir Director’s Decalogue” • Jeff’s Personal Odyssey (10 Points)
  • SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

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