Views from the Choir Loft

Recording

Keven Smith · May 26, 2020

The Fastest, Cheapest, Painfulest Way to Get a Voice Lesson

You know your own sound so well. You know your strengths, and what you need to work on. Why not suck it up and become your own vocal coach for a while?

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Fr. David Friel · December 16, 2019

Liturgica • Interview with Chris Mueller on the Release of New CD

Mueller discusses his recently released recording of original compositions and Renaissance masterworks.

Fr. David Friel · January 28, 2018

The Hillbilly Thomists

A New Dominican CD

Fr. David Friel · January 21, 2018

Dedication of the Cathedral Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World

Three new choral works featured during this celebration on 13 October 2017.

Fr. David Friel · December 24, 2017

Lux Fulgebit: Mass at Dawn of Christmas Day

New recording by the Schola Cantorum of St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, CT

Fr. David Friel · September 24, 2017

Album: Sacred Treasures of England

Reflections on a recently released album of English choral music

Veronica Brandt · March 11, 2017

A CD from on High for Benedictines in Tasmania

A new CD you don’t have yet full of beautiful music raising funds for bringing more beautiful music to Tasmania.

Veronica Brandt · February 25, 2017

Making rehearsal CDs and finding mp3s

Burning CDs may seem old-fashioned, but many people still rely on their CD players. All the shortcuts, plus a free recording of Audi Benigne Conditor.

Veronica Brandt · September 5, 2015

Mind, Senses and Recorded Music

A little pop psychology for your weekend.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 23, 2012

Exsultet Video Recording • Paschal Proclamation • Plus MP3 Recordings!

The Easter Proclamation (“Exsultet”) sung on Holy Saturday Night New Translation (Roman Missal, 3rd Edition)

“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