Views from the Choir Loft

Flor Peeters

Jeff Ostrowski · August 14, 2024

“Missa de Angelis” • Gloria

Feel free to download this PDF file containing GLORIA VIII (“Mass of the Angels”) harmonized by the great Belgian organist: Flor Peeters.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 16, 2023

PDF Download • César Franck Book of Gregorian Chant Accompaniments (156 Pages)

“The organ is so universally used as an accompanying instrument today that there is a pressing need to provide a written accompaniment…” —César Franck

Jeff Ostrowski · April 17, 2023

“I Came From Somewhere” • (So Did You!)

Including a haunting hymn by Flor Peeters for Eastertide.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 21, 2023

“Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever

As Americans, we’re “bred from birth” to think of ourselves as little gods who already know everything and require no correction.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 9, 2023

PDF Download • Belgian “Ordinary of the Mass” (Organ Accompaniment) — 191 pages

This volume has been professionally scanned—and you’ll love the results!

Jeff Ostrowski · November 29, 2022

“Advent Hymn” • Composed by Flor Peeters

Peeters was organist at Malines Cathedral from 1923 until his death in 1986.

Jeff Ostrowski · September 13, 2022

PDF Download • 2-Voice Eucharistic Hymn by Flor Peeters (45 pages) • Includes a Descant!

Lyrics in English, with an (optional) version in Latin.

Corpus Christi Watershed · August 31, 2022

“This Hymnal Makes My Heart Sing!” —Lauren E.

“It was compiled by priests and musicians who are authentically Catholic…” — Lauren Elizabeth

Jeff Ostrowski · August 30, 2022

PDF Download • “Tantum Ergo” Two-Part Interlude (Manuals Only) by Flor Peeters

Including a stunningly gorgeous (and rare!) hymn by Flor Peeters.

Jeff Ostrowski · August 15, 2022

“Wild Accompaniment” • Flor Peeters (Kyrie VIII)

Kyrie “Missa de Angelis”—recorded yesterday by a volunteer choir.

Jeff Ostrowski · June 11, 2022

Composing Your Own Antiphons?

In the days before Vatican II, dioceses had their own special feast days.

“Entrance Chant” • Christ the King

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Solemnity of Christ the King (24 November 2024). It mimics the Mode III Latin version in a truly spectacular way. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • (33rd Sund. Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday—17 November 2024—is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Some have expressed interest in perusing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. You’ll notice we’re learning Moreau’s “Congregational Polyphonic Enhancement” for the OUR FATHER. For the record, our opening hymn is particularly beautiful. So is the Mode 6 ENTRANCE CHANT.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Lectionary Errors

If you look at the official Responsorial Psalm (PDF) for this coming Sunday, you’ll notice the current Lectionary has the wrong refrain. Why is this a big deal? Why even mention such a thing? Everybody makes mistakes, right? Here’s why it matters. The USCCB—which makes money by selling the sacred liturgical texts—has historically been ruthless when it comes to such matters. When various publishers point out errors to them, their response has been: “If you dare to correct the error, we’ll sue you.” These errors are not a matter of nuance; e.g. sometimes the previous (English) edition of the Lectionary got them right! Bottom Line: mandatory, indulgenced, liturgical texts shouldn’t be sold; they should be freely available to all Catholics.

—Jeff Ostrowski

The Breviary in the Life of the Laity

Recently I have been enjoying looking through the inaugural (1927) edition of a 20th-century liturgical magazine called Orate Fratres. The July 1927 issue included an excellent article by a Chicago laywoman named Ellen Gates Starr entitled “The Delights of the Breviary: From the Point of View of a Lay Woman.” As we in the 21st century have recently undergone a (blessed!) re-translation of the missal into English, and as we await with joyful hope (please God, before Jesus comes back!) a similar re-translation of the breviary, the opening of her article reminded me of that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Nearly a hundred years ago, she penned words that could just as easily have been written today: “It is indeed a privilege to be allowed any participation, however slight, in the liturgical movement in the Church – the movement to bring back the classics of devotion, the Missal and the Breviary, into general use by the laity. The wonder is that they should ever have fallen into disuse. Nothing can take the place of these great universal prayers of the Church, the prayers of the Mass and the divine Office. One has only to know them to find them indispensable. And alas, how few of the laity know them!” I know that I have been tremendously nourished by regular praying of the breviary as of late, and my wish is that you and I, dear reader, may continue to nourish our interior lives with the official prayer of the Church, which present to us (in the Mass) and extend (in the Office) the fullness of Christ’s greatest gift to us – the gift of Himself – in the Most Holy Eucharist.

—Daniel Tucker

Principles vs Preferences

I ran into this idea recently: principles vs. preferences in planning out a curriculum or music lineup. In this idea, it is imperative to not misconstrue personal preferences into principles—that the music (or subject matter) is great because: “I have good taste, and I like it.” De gustibus… Education, study and docility to the Magisterium of the Church on matters of liturgical music must be present in those who make the music at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Hours. Who knows? Maybe you might start to prefer the music that is fitting according to the principles Catholic Sacred Music?

—William J. Fritz

Liquescent Notes in the Official Edition

The official edition—the EDITIO VATICANA itself—is somewhat inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes. If you wish to see a perfect “apples-to-apples” comparison, click here. Such “inconsistency” was not owing to ignorance on the part of Abbat Pothier: the manuscripts themselves are inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes.

—Jeff Ostrowski