Views from the Choir Loft

Veronica Brandt • Article Archive

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. As editor, she has produced fine publications (as well as valuable reprints) dealing with Gregorian chant, hymnody, Latin, and other subjects. These publications are distinguished on account of their tastefulness. She lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her husband Peter and six children.—Read full biography (with photographs).

Veronica Brandt · February 13, 2016

Save the Merit, Save the World

Lenten discipline : St Philip Neri says “to love to be unknown”; Gandalf says “Keep it secret, keep it safe.”

Veronica Brandt · February 6, 2016

Jesus Played Marbles

A picture book painting an historical picture of Jesus’ hidden life with the boys known in the Bible as His brothers while providing the evidence supporting the Catholic teaching of the perpetual virginity of Our Lady. And how to play marbles in a friendly way.

Veronica Brandt · January 30, 2016

Make a Digital Piano Sound Like an Organ

Nothing beats a real pipe organ, but you may be able to put together a respectable substitute that you can lug into a church in a few bags.

Veronica Brandt · January 23, 2016

Angelus Bells and the Raspberry Pi

Setting a computer up to do something useful, bringing together a credit card sized computer and some midi samples.

Veronica Brandt · January 16, 2016

Why remember gruesome things

The Roman Martyrology is a book of brief eulogies arranged for daily reading. Also great for expectant parents choosing names.

Veronica Brandt · January 2, 2016

Mental Prayer through Hymns

The big misunderstanding about mental prayer illuminated by two different hymns and what you can do about it.

Veronica Brandt · December 19, 2015

Epiphany Proclamation

It is solemnly made known, dearest brethren that, just as we through the bounteous mercy of God, have rejoiced in the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, likewise should we proclaim the joy of the Resurrection of this same Saviour.

Veronica Brandt · December 5, 2015

Have you heard of St Clelia?

A young foundress who continues to sing with her congregations around the world and how this underlines the power of the liturgy.

Veronica Brandt · November 14, 2015

How a Priest Saved Thousands in WW2

A movie I have been meaning to see for years and now heartily endorse.

Veronica Brandt · November 7, 2015

Chore wars and maintaining motivation

Setting up choir folders would have to rank 50XP and 30 gold pieces with a 50% chance of battling a carnivorous ring binder to gain a rare fragment of an illuminated manuscript.

Veronica Brandt · October 31, 2015

Guinea Pigs and the Old Sequence for All Souls Day

Dies Irae – day of wrath and day of mourning. Our pets’ passing provided a poignant reminder of our mortality.

Veronica Brandt · October 24, 2015

How to do Marian Hymns

Listen to a young group drawing together many different styles of sacred music into new collection.

Veronica Brandt · October 10, 2015

New CD by the Sistine Chapel Choir

Watch for more about the first ever commercial recording from the Sistine Chapel.

Veronica Brandt · September 26, 2015

Praise to the Holiest

The seven stanzas of amazingness by Blessed Cardinal Newman with three tunes to choose from.

Veronica Brandt · September 19, 2015

How many tunes should we use?

Including a brief survey of tunes for Benediction hymns from a few of the hymnbooks on my bookshelf.

Year’s End Appeal • “Asking for Help”

We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment; we have no major donors; we run no advertisements; we have no savings. As 2024 comes to a close, we could really use your financial support—especially if you have never donated before. Click here to securely donate with any major credit card. Thank you very much!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” (4th Sunday of Advent, Year C)

This coming Sunday—22 December 2024—is the 4th Sunday of Advent (Year C). 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. The English version of “Roráte Cæli” we’re singing for the ENTRANCE CHANT is magnificent.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • 4th Sunday of Advent

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 4th Sunday of Advent (22 December 2024). Set in the first mode—just like the authentic version—this setting manages to capture the “essence” of the Gregorian setting in quite an admirable way. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Lessons and Carols”

Seen online! Dr. Samuel Backman conducted a “Lessons and Carols” service with his choir, and someone produced this lovely vignette.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Epiphany Proclamation 2025

Each year, without fail, someone asks me to typeset the Epiphany Proclamation, an announcement of moveable feasts chanted each year on the feast of the Epiphany. As a result, you may now find an archive of 23 such proclamations in PDF ready to print HERE.

—Veronica Brandt

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