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 · July 9, 2015

Musical Resources • 7th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

The organist will play softly at the Offertory.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 8, 2015

Beware Of Microphones!

My mother was present during that Mass and recorded some brief snippets on her iPhone.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 7, 2015

Short, Fresh, & Beautiful • SATB “Ave Maris Stella”

This piece by Fr. Antonin Lhoumeau will knock your socks off!

Jeff Ostrowski · July 7, 2015

UGLY • Just Plain, Old-Fashioned Ugly

Have you noticed that contemporary music was not forced upon congregations the same way contemporary architecture was?

Jeff Ostrowski · July 6, 2015

The Beauty Of Ancient Catholic Manuscripts

Medieval manuscripts were normally created by (at least) two monks: one drew, one wrote.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 4, 2015

Clarence Thomas: “I waited 25 years to return to the Church”

“Older people have an obligation not to spew their cynicism on our youth.” —Justice Thomas

Jeff Ostrowski · July 4, 2015

Musical Resources • 6th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

The organist will play softly at the Offertory.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 2, 2015

Annibale Bugnini’s Commentary (June 1967)

“The faithful everywhere have responded generously, and have greeted the new liturgy with great joy.” —Archbishop Bugnini (1967)

Jeff Ostrowski · July 1, 2015

Only Priests Can Save Catholic Music

Including thirteen (13) complete collections of Mass Propers…with audio examples!

Jeff Ostrowski · June 28, 2015

Loading Choir Binders In Los Angeles

I average one binder per second.

Jeff Ostrowski · June 26, 2015

Musical Resources • 5th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

The organist will play softly at the Offertory.

Jeff Ostrowski · June 24, 2015

Clearest Explanation Ever! —Bishop Gracida On Divorce & Remarriage For Catholics

“It is better to speak of a Declaration of Nullity rather than an Annulment…” —Most Rev. Gracida (1994)

Jeff Ostrowski · June 24, 2015

PDF Download • “Gloria In Excelsis” With 3-Voice Polyphony By Cristóbal De Morales

Could this have something to do with how each line comes through “cleanly” in 3-part music?

Jeff Ostrowski · June 22, 2015

Richard Rice • SATB Kyrie from Mass VIII

A luxuriant choral setting of the Kyrie from “Mass of the Angels”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 22, 2015

EWTN Classic • “Theology of Worship” with Fr. Robert Skeris (1998)

Mother Angelica sat down for a wonderful interview with a famous Theologian.

“Entrance Chant” • Immaculate Conception

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Immaculate Conception (9 December 2024). It’s in the third mode—which some consider the most beautiful of all—and mimics the authentic version in a laudable 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

How Sharp Are Your Eyes?

Just around the corner is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The GREGORIAN MISSAL (Solesmes Abbey, 1990) is an utterly gorgeous book—there’s no question about that. But several typos did creep in. Can you spot the major typo for the ENTRANCE CHANT on the feast of the Immaculate Conception? How sharp are your eyes? If you succeed, send me an email letting me know.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“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

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