Views from the Choir Loft

Articles

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · November 14, 2013

A Sober Assessment of Liturgical Reform

The official statements always sing the praises of reform, but the people in the pews know better. They are the ones who have suffered the most.

Jeff Ostrowski · November 14, 2013

More Thoughts On The 3-Year Lectionary …

“The Instruction pretends that we actually do have Propers for the Mass, whereas everyone knows that today the Mass Propers are sung perhaps at one Mass in ten thousand.” — Professor László Dobszay

Andrew R. Motyka · November 13, 2013

Gratefulness

Being the first to post about Thanksgiving so now everyone else looks like they’re copying me.

Corpus Christi Watershed · November 12, 2013

Cardinals Who Don’t Know Latin

This short video talks about Cardinals who didn’t understand the Pope’s resignation speech.

Cynthia Ostrowski · November 12, 2013

Catholic Line Art, Black and White • Installment #41

I will be releasing hundreds of these B/W religious line art drawings for free and instant download. These beautiful Catholic “woodcuts” were done with magnificent skill. “Download Free Traditional Catholic Clipart”

Jeff Ostrowski · November 11, 2013

When Rome Gets It Wrong

“Many a pope has gone through his entire pontificate without making a single infallible statement.” — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Corpus Christi Watershed · November 11, 2013

Two Upcoming Lectures on Sacred Art

The Beauty of the Liturgical Year: Advent

Veronica Brandt · November 11, 2013

Funerals and Last Things

Having stable, familiar, unchanging plans in place can be very reassuring, rather than the pressure to be original and creative.

Jeff Ostrowski · November 11, 2013

The Archer Loves The Arrow And The Bow

If you tend to cry a lot, don’t read this poem.

Corpus Christi Watershed · November 9, 2013

Liturgica Website Reprints “Rituale Romanum”

“All illustrations were painstakingly edited and partly redrawn.”

Corpus Christi Watershed · November 7, 2013

Now Available! Online Latin Lectionary For Masses In The Ordinary Form

Sometimes “seeing is believing.”

Gwyneth Holston · November 7, 2013

Feast of St. Cecilia – November 22nd

One of the Most Venerated Martyrs from Christian Antiquity

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · November 7, 2013

The Fear of the Lord

Do we rightly fear the Lord?

Corpus Christi Watershed · November 6, 2013

Jesuit Martyrs of North America by John A. O’Brien

A free PDF download of this entire book is provided, courtesy of the St. Jean de Lalande Library of Rare Books.

Jeff Ostrowski · November 6, 2013

“For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours”

A mystery! The 1970s ICEL seems not to have included these words, even though they were in the official Latin …

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