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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Articles

Jeff Ostrowski · August 11, 2014

Mass Propers In English

Roosevelt was President while paralyzed. Churchill gave speeches but couldn’t pronounce “S” correctly. Surely, then, we can implement the Mass Propers with these 11 collections! • the Graduale Romanum has been set in English by many composers; here are some collections with audio samples+

Jeff Ostrowski · August 11, 2014

Important Resources for Liturgical Reform (4 of 7)

Should Church music be fun? Yes!!!

Guest Author · August 10, 2014

EF Homily: 9th Sunday after Pentecost

Yes, God is merciful, but there is a limit to His mercy.

Fr. David Friel · August 10, 2014

Important Resources for Liturgical Reform (3 of 7)

Public Domain Scores & Published Resources

Jeff Ostrowski · August 10, 2014

The Most Insane Thing Heard By Anyone

I used to think Horowitz’s additions to the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody were the most amazing virtuoso display I ever heard. I was wrong.

Guest Author · August 10, 2014

Homily: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

It’s easy now to say that the disciples had nothing to fear since Jesus was so close. But that is not how it works in real life situations.

Veronica Brandt · August 9, 2014

Important Resources for Liturgical Reform (2 of 7)

Planting the seeds for liturgical reform with a new book of old hymns.

Richard J. Clark · August 8, 2014

Important Resources for Liturgical Reform (1 of 7)

Some mainstream resources are geared towards maximizing market share; there are a number of others, perhaps lesser known that have the words of St. Pius X and “Sacrosanctum Concilium” in mind.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · August 7, 2014

St. Thomas on the “Asperges” (Sprinkling Rite)

St. Thomas did not comment specifically on the custom of sprinkling the people with holy water prior to the principal Sunday Mass; but he did explain exactly why it’s a good idea to do such a thing.

Guest Author · August 6, 2014

Forty Hours Sermon

The Church in which I was preaching happened to be one of those Churches which didn’t have the Blessed Sacrament in it, and my remark caused quite a stir.

Jeff Ostrowski · August 6, 2014

Did The Ancient Mass Really Have Three Readings?

“We are repeatedly assured that there was an Old Testament reading each Sunday morning, but that quite mysteriously these all vanished by the seventh century, and vanished leaving no memory that they had ever existed…” — Fr. John Parsons

Jeff Ostrowski · August 5, 2014

Intercession by saints? Why not go directly to God?

If I didn’t answer when he called, he’d keep calling my number over and over. If I still didn’t answer, he’d start calling my family members, including siblings who lived 900+ miles away!

Aurelio Porfiri · August 5, 2014

The Semiologist And The Unbeliever

Once upon a time there was a musician who thought he knew how Gregorian chant should be performed, and was very suspicious of the “semiologists.”

Jeff Ostrowski · August 5, 2014

Five Questions No Liturgist Can Answer

“The present welter of discardable booklets, mimeographed sheets, divergent paperback hymnals, and so on … has unfortunate psychological effects.” — Dr. James Hitchcock

Aurelio Porfiri · August 4, 2014

Modernity Impact

For me tradition is not going to the past, but going to the origins.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Good Friday Flowers
    Good Friday has a series of prayers for various parties: the pope, catechumens, pagans, heretics, schismatics, and so forth. In the old liturgical books, there was no official ‘name’ for these prayers. (This wasn’t unusual as ‘headers’ and ‘titles’ for each section is a rather modern idea.) The Missal simply instructed the priest to go to the Epistle side and begin. In the SHERBORNE MISSAL, each prayer begins with a different—utterly spectacular—flower. This PDF file shows the first few prayers. Has anyone counted the ‘initial’ drop-cap flowers in the SHERBORNE MISSAL? Surely there are more than 1,000.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (3rd Sunday of Lent)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 3rd Sunday of Lent (8 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has magnificent propers. Its stern INTROIT (“Óculi mei semper ad Dóminum”) is breathtaking, and the COMMUNION (“Qui bíberit aquam”) with its fauxbourdon verses is wonderful. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —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

Quick Thoughts

    “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation
    It isn’t easy to determine what Alice King MacGilton hoped to accomplish with her very popular book—A Study of Latin Hymns (1918)—which continued to be reprinted in new editions for at least 34 years. This PDF file shows her attempt to translate the DIES IRAE “in the fewest words possible.” There’s a place for dynamic equivalency, but this is repugnant. In particular, look what she does to “Quærens me sedísti lassus.”
    —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
    Grotesque Pairing • “Passion Chorale”
    One of our rarest releases was undoubtably this PDF scan of the complete Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) by Father Joseph Roff, a student of Healey Willan. One of the scarcest titles in existence, this book was provided to us by Mr. Peter Meggison. Back in 2018, we scanned each page and uploaded it to our website, making it freely available to everyone. Readers are probably sick of hearing me say this, but just because we upload something that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wonderful or worthy of imitation. We upload many publications precisely because they are ‘grotesque’, interesting, or revealing. Whereas the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal had an editorial board that was careful and sensitive vis-à-vis pairing texts with tunes, the Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) seems to have been rather reckless in this regard. Please take a look at what they did with the PASSION CHORALE and see whether you agree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“He would lecture early in the morning at St Edmund’s College, perhaps more than once, rush from thence to the British Museum, and toil there intensely for hours, all without a scrap of food, having pledged himself to dine with us.”

— A description of Father Adrian Fortescue

Recent Posts

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  • Good Friday Flowers
  • PDF Download • “Entrance Chant” for Holy Thursday (Plainsong in English)
  • “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation

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