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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

PDF Download

Jeff Ostrowski · March 28, 2023

Three (3) Tricks Every Choir Director Should Learn

Conscientious choirmasters know it’s crucial to get “as much bang for your buck” as possible.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 27, 2023

PDF Download • “Organ Accompaniment Booklet” (Passion Sunday Vespers) — 24 pages

Fulton J. Sheen considered Monsignor Knox’s English translation of the Bible to be the greatest ever created.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 15, 2023

“Solesmes Ictus” • Can It Be Justified? (Examples)

“If you begin by telling a man that in a word like 𝐷𝑒𝑢𝑠 the first syllable corresponds to the weak beat, the second to the strong beat of a modern bar, the only thing accomplished will be to bewilder him thoroughly.” —Father Bewerunge

Andrea Leal · March 7, 2023

PDF Download • “Spanish Missal for the Traditional Latin Mass” (Madrid, 1961) — 860 pages!

Let me explain why this 1961 Spanish Missal is so important.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 1, 2023

Greatest Choral Piece Ever Written? • It Might Be Marenzio’s “Salve Regina”

By March 1596 Marenzio had arrived in Poland. In October of that year, he directed a Mass he’d written in the form of an “echo.”

Jeff Ostrowski · February 20, 2023

PDF Download • “Quinquagesima Sunday” Organ Accompaniment Booklet (25 pages)

The word “Alleluia” changes to: “Praise be to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory.”

Jeff Ostrowski · February 15, 2023

PDF • 2014 Dissertation: “Plainchant Influence on the Liturgical Music of Dr. Marier” (324 pages)

This treatise (324 pages) is a “must read” for anyone who cares about liturgical music in the Catholic Church.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 9, 2023

PDF Download • “Gorgeous Image!”

Saint John Mary Vianney (d. 1859) is one of my favorite saints. Our readers will want to download this gorgeous stained glass window which depicts Father Vianney, the holy Curé d’Ars.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 8, 2023

PDF Download • Symposium Kyrie Revealed

People often complain: “Catholic priests won’t pay a living wage for choir directors, yet gladly pay millions to purchase a pipe organ.”

Corpus Christi Watershed · February 1, 2023

Filling Up Fast! • Sacred Music Symposium

“The Sacred Music Symposium was a vehicle of grace that changed my life.” —2019 Participant

Jeff Ostrowski · January 31, 2023

PDF Download • Belgian Book of Gregorian Accompaniments (Official Edition)

We paid to have this extremely rare book scanned professionally.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 25, 2023

PDF Download • 1909 “Modern Notation” Gradual (Extremely Rare) — 712 Pages

The truth is stranger than fiction.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 17, 2023

PDF Download • “Keenly Rare!” • Gregorian Chant Booklet on 5 Lines (1920) — 326 Pages

There must have been a need for such a booklet, otherwise he would not have gone to the trouble of creating it!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 15, 2023

PDF Download • “Organ Accompaniment Booklet” (25 pages) — Vespers, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany

The internet is putting good people in touch with one another.

Andrea Leal · January 13, 2023

New Lectionary for the USA • Coming in 2028?

“Work hasn’t even begun on the next Lectionary, and there’s nothing definite about 2028 as a date.” — Father Andrew V. Menke, director of the USCCB liturgical committee

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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

Quick Thoughts

    “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

Random Quote

The People’s Hymnal suffers from a too literal and awkward translation. And even in the lovely Slovak “Memorare” in The Saint Gregory Hymnal we are still asked to sing “that anyone who sought thee, or made to thee his moan.” Why not “groan” or “bone” or even “phone?” The only thing necessary, it seems, is that it rhyme with “known.”

— Mons. Francis P. Schmitt (1958)

Recent Posts

  • Fulton J. Sheen • “24-Hour Catechism”
  • Music List • (Palm Sunday, 2026)
  • Easter • Would You Sing This Hymn?
  • “Priest Saying Mass” • Medieval Illumination
  • From Sentiment to Sacrament: Reclaiming Sacred Music for the Wedding Mass

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