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 · June 27, 2015

Rebuild my Church

The Maternal Heart of Mary Church is a collegiate style church in Sydney, Australia and home to the only FSSP parish in the country.

Veronica Brandt · June 20, 2015

Wrapped in the Liber Usualis

A scarf adorned with pages from the Liber Usualis. Why not?

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Veronica Brandt · June 6, 2015

A hymnal in e-book format

100 pieces of Gregorian chant to carry around in your pocket, with English translations.

Veronica Brandt · June 1, 2015

Easy 3 part motet for the Sacred Heart of Jesus

A short 20th century motet by Fr Tom Luby, MSC with practice audio recordings.

Veronica Brandt · May 30, 2015

The Key for Singing an OF Mass for the EF Musician

It’s almost 5 years since the new translation came out, but some EF musicians still haven’t caught up. Here are some pointers for the musician who has been hiding under a musical rock for a decade.

Veronica Brandt · May 23, 2015

A little bit of fun

Heads and shoulders, knees and toes, in Latin with square note notation, to the tune well known in Australia.

Veronica Brandt · May 16, 2015

Memento Rerum Conditor

The hymn most frequently appearing in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary has finally made it to youtube!

Veronica Brandt · May 9, 2015

The difference between Anything and Everything.

Where free choice can lead to chaos or paralysis.

Veronica Brandt · May 2, 2015

Taking the easy way out, relatively speaking

Starting a collection of easier propers for the Extraordinary Form. A pair of Alleluias and two Offertory antiphons to start the ball rolling.

Veronica Brandt · April 25, 2015

Lest we forget

Encouraging solemnity in a public space in Australia is no mean feat, but there are well known traditions which give the framework which elevates the simple, heartfelt speeches into a moving tribute to our fallen service men and women.

Veronica Brandt · April 18, 2015

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 3 of 7

We have the treasury of sacred music to steer us. We have computers to help adapt scores to suit our choirs. And now we have an excellent resource which provides ready made adaptations of the Propers.

Veronica Brandt · April 11, 2015

How did your Holy Week go?

Singing for the Sacred Triduum and Easter ceremonies is an awesome privilege. Coming out the other side can be very sweet indeed, even when things didn’t always go quite as planned.

Veronica Brandt · March 28, 2015

Scales and counterpoint

Two part choir exercises – one for every day of the year plus a few dozen to spare.

Veronica Brandt · March 14, 2015

Gems in Latin and English

Five books providing our treasured Latin hymns with English translations to help you sing with understanding.

Veronica Brandt · March 7, 2015

A Homely Slant on Bertalot’s Sight-Singing

Is sight-singing only for elite choirs? Do you need fancy resources?

Music List • (Palm Sunday, 2026)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Palm Sunday—a.k.a. “Dominica in palmis de Passione Domini”—which is 29 March 2026. Please feel free to download it as a PDF file if such a thing interests you. The OFFERTORY (Impropérium exspectávit cor meum) is quite moving. Even though the COMMUNION ANTIPHON is relatively simple, the Fauxbourdon makes it sound outstanding.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Easter • Would You Sing This Hymn?

He who examines Laudes Dei: a hymnal for Catholic congregations (St. Louis, 1894) will discover this pairing of a hymn for Easter. For the record, this isn’t the only Catholic hymn book to marry that text and melody; e.g. Saint Mark’s Hymnal for Use in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States (Peoria, 1910) does the same thing. Sometimes an unexpected pairing—chosen with sensitivity—can be superb, forcing singers to experience the text in a ‘fresh’ and wonderful way. On the other hand, we sometimes encounter something I’ve called “PERNICIOUS HYMN PAIRINGS.” If you find the subject in intriguing, feel free to peruse an article I published in May of 2023. As always, my email inbox is open if you have a bone to pick with my take.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Pipe Organ “Answers” in Plainsong?

In 2003, I copied a book by Félix Bélédin (d. 1895), who was titular organist—from 1841 to 1874—at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Lyon (France). In 2008, we scanned and uploaded the book to the Lalande Online Library. Nobody knows for sure when the book was published; some believe it first appeared in the 1840s. In any event, one who examines this excerpt, showing GLORIA IX might wonder why it says the organ answers in plainsong. However, the front of the book explains, telling the organist explicitly when to “respond in plainchant.” This is something called organ alternatim. Believe it or not, the pipe organ would take turns with the choir, playing certain texts instrumentally instead of having them sung. I’m not very well-versed in this—pardon the pun—but if memory serves, ORGAN ALTERNATIM was frowned upon by the time of Pope Saint Pius X. Nevertheless, French organists kept doing it, even after it was explicitly condemned as an abuse.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”

For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.

—Jeff Ostrowski