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 · January 23, 2015

Musical Resources • Third Sunday after Epiphany

Hymns can be implemented into the Latin High Mass with great effect.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 22, 2015

True Meaning Of The Word “Liturgy”

Historically, “liturgy” referred to a service done for the people, not by them.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 21, 2015

PDF Download: “Laudate Hymnal” (1942) … An Exceptionally Rare Book!

“We feel that the selection of hymns leaves little to be desired…” —From the 1942 Foreword

Jeff Ostrowski · January 20, 2015

PDF Download: Hymn Book By Sisters Of Notre Dame (1907)

“Yet zephyrs vainly fan me, and flow’rs to groves invite…”

Jeff Ostrowski · January 19, 2015

Dick Morris & Gregorian Accompaniment

Some people accept a job as choir director and say, “I have five singers who don’t read music, so I guess that’s how it will always be.”

Jeff Ostrowski · January 18, 2015

From The 1400s • Communion Kneeling

A beautiful image from 15th-century Austria.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 15, 2015

Musical Resources • Second Sunday after Epiphany

It’s hard to imagine a more beautiful text than Sedulius’ Hymn: Hostis Herodes Impie.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 15, 2015

PDF Download: Standard Catholic Hymnal (1921)

This extremely rare Catholic hymn book is here made available for the first time ever as a PDF download.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2015

Hypocrisy About Francis From An Unlikely Source

Resist the temptation to believe that Francis is 80,000 times as important as Benedict since he receives 80,000 times as much media coverage.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 13, 2015

PDF Download: Notre Dame Hymn Tune Book (1905)

“They call me a Papist and they laugh at my creed…”

Jeff Ostrowski · January 12, 2015

PDF Download: Rare Hymnal By Boston’s Archbishop

Can you imagine singing all those vernacular hymns while Mass is happening?

Jeff Ostrowski · January 12, 2015

Cristóbal de Morales Missa “Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La.”

You’ll want to immediately download these scores, videos, and Mp3 files!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 9, 2015

Short And Simple Organ Postludes & Preludes

Many of you asked me to share the results, which I have done below.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 8, 2015

“The best I have ever seen. Anywhere. In the world. Period.” —Mr. John Sonnen

“The vitality of the Classical Rite is as fresh as ever.”

Jeff Ostrowski · January 8, 2015

Musical Resources • Holy Family

Many don’t realize that all the EF chants for the Holy Family can be used at OF—cf. section 397 of the Ordo Cantus Missæ.

“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