Views from the Choir Loft

Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council

Fr. David Friel · September 16, 2020

Solesmes Publishes “Antiphonale Romanum I” for Lauds

This 2020 chant edition makes possible the chanting of Lauds according to the Liturgy of the Hours.

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Fr. David Friel · December 11, 2016

The Historic Adaptability of the Marriage Rite

Evidence from Trent and Vatican II

Jeff Ostrowski · September 9, 2016

A Serious Question About Vatican II

Vatican II spoke of “useless repetitions” in the liturgy, and said these should be examined…

Fr. David Friel · July 17, 2016

Are the Readings at Mass Meant to Be Didactic or Doxological?

Reflections from the Fota IX International Liturgy Conference

Fr. David Friel · June 23, 2016

Colloquium 2016 • Day 3

The Organic Development of the Liturgy and the New Music Breakouts

Fr. David Friel · January 31, 2016

Too Many Options

Allowing Adolescents to Choose Their Faith & the Wide-Open Permissions of the GIRM

Fr. David Friel · January 17, 2016

Sacra Liturgia UK — Registration Now Open

An International Conference on Liturgical Formation in Light of the New Evangelization

Fr. David Friel · June 28, 2015

In Memoriam: Dr. Lucy E. Carroll, DMA

Lucy was a friend and mentor to me, and I would like to share with you a little bit of her story.

Fr. David Friel · June 3, 2015

Sacra Liturgia 2015 — Update II

Fourteen (14) practical ideas for how a priest might transform his celebration of the Ordinary Form

Fr. David Friel · June 1, 2015

Sacra Liturgia 2015 — Update I

Cardinal Sarah reveals the instructions he received from Pope Francis upon his appointment as Prefect of the CDW.

Fr. David Friel · May 24, 2015

A Mini History of the Sequences

At the height of their usage, there were proper sequences for nearly every Sunday and feast day.

Fr. David Friel · April 12, 2015

Sacra Liturgia USA 2015

An International Conference on Liturgical Formation in Light of the New Evangelization

Fr. David Friel · March 29, 2015

Essential Resources for Holy Week

Knowing What Is Needed

Fr. David Friel · January 11, 2015

What to Do with Musicam Sacram

Does the 1967 Instruction on Music in the Liturgy have any relevance today?

Richard J. Clark · January 9, 2015

The Lowest Musical Aspiration Possible – Or the Highest?

Is being a church musician the lowest musical aspiration possible? Or the Highest?

“Music List” (4th Sunday of Advent, Year C)

This coming Sunday—22 December 2024—is the 4th Sunday of Advent (Year C). 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. The English version of “Roráte Cæli” we’re singing for the ENTRANCE CHANT is magnificent.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • 4th Sunday of Advent

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 4th Sunday of Advent (22 December 2024). Set in the first mode—just like the authentic version—this setting manages to capture the “essence” of the Gregorian setting in quite an admirable way. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. 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

Communion (4th Sunday of Advent)

The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (PDF) we’re singing for the 4th Sunday of Advent has a particularly gorgeous melody. The text (from the prophet Isaiah) is also quite beautiful and is cited toward the beginning of Saint Matthew’s Gospel. It certainly seems like most of the Advent antiphons come from the book of Isaiah…

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Lessons and Carols”

Seen online! Dr. Samuel Backman conducted a “Lessons and Carols” service with his choir, and someone produced this lovely vignette.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Epiphany Proclamation 2025

Each year, without fail, someone asks me to typeset the Epiphany Proclamation, an announcement of moveable feasts chanted each year on the feast of the Epiphany. As a result, you may now find an archive of 23 such proclamations in PDF ready to print HERE.

—Veronica Brandt

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