Views from the Choir Loft

Articles

Corpus Christi Watershed · October 12, 2011

Five New Translation Videos • “Glory To God”

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.

Fr. David Friel · September 28, 2011

Weddings & Funerals

What’s the Difference?

Fr. David Friel · September 21, 2011

A Reminder

Message from a One-Month-Old

Fr. David Friel · September 14, 2011

The Triumph of the Cross

Choosing Death

Fr. David Friel · September 4, 2011

Growth in Holiness

The Joy of Shepherds

Fr. David Friel · August 29, 2011

Masculine Spirituality

Losing Our Heads

Fr. David Friel · August 21, 2011

Peter Lives On

Pointing to the Truth

Fr. David Friel · August 12, 2011

Seeking the Face of God

We Have to Hear before We See

Fr. David Friel · August 5, 2011

The Work of God & the Work of Man

On Priestly Zeal

Fr. David Friel · July 26, 2011

The Experience of Ordination

What was I thinking?

Jeff Ostrowski · May 25, 2011

Modern Sacred Music

QUESTION: Are there any composers alive today writing truly great Sacred music?

Jeff Ostrowski · April 17, 2011

Proof Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt

Whenever you learn a new word, you will see it within 24 hours.

Jeff Ostrowski · December 9, 2010

Voice Leading Matters

All men are created equal, but what about accompaniments for Gregorian chant?

“Entrance Chant” • 8th Sunday (Ord. Time)

You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time (2 March 2025). Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. This English adaptation uses the same mode as the authentic Gregorian Chant version, formerly used on the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost. 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

PDF Download • “Chabanel Tones”

Many have requested a file containing all the different tones used on the Father Noël Chabanel website. I finally found time to assemble all of them into a single PDF file (which is 3 pages long). If this interests you, feel free to download the PDF score.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • 7th Sunday (Ord. Time)

You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (23 February 2025). Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. This English adaptation uses mode 5, as does the authentic Gregorian Chant version, which formerly was used in a rather surprising place (viz. the 1st Sunday after Pentecost). 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

The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum

Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.

—Daniel Tucker

Antiphons Don’t Match?

A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music).

—Corpus Christi Watershed

The Lofty Nature of This Goal

It is important above all that we never lose sight of our true goal as church musicians: the right worship of Almighty God. This is not a pious sentiment that should cause us to be lax about technical elements of music. Rather, the lofty nature of this goal is should motivate and inspire us to pursue the techne of musicianship with even greater zeal.

—Dr. Samuel Backman

“Unfortunately, on the one hand a deadly error in judgment placed the official leadership of this committee into the hands of a man who—though generous and brave—was not very knowledgeable: Cardinal Lercaro. He was utterly incapable of resisting the maneuvers of the mealy-mouthed scoundrel that the Neapolitan Vincentian, Bugnini, a man as bereft of culture as he was of basic honesty, soon revealed himself to be.”

— ‘Fr. Louis Bouyer, an important member of the Consilium’