Views from the Choir Loft

Roman Missal Third Edition

Jeff Ostrowski · March 4, 2014

How Many Syllables Does The Word “Catholic” Have?

Do you sing “ain-juhl” or “ain-jell” for the word “ANGEL” ? Do you sing “hevv-ihn” or “heav’n” for the word “HEAVEN” ?

Fr. David Friel · February 9, 2014

Celebrating Parish Weddings

New Rubrics for Use of the Gloria

Fr. David Friel · January 26, 2014

Comparing Canons

Does Using Eucharistic Prayer II Really “Save Time”?

Fr. David Friel · January 5, 2014

Ministry vs. Edification

Do the People “Minister” to their Priests?

Jeff Ostrowski · January 2, 2014

When Is The Sequence Sung? Before The Alleluia?

In 2000, there was an effort made at restoring the Sequence to its proper place.

Fr. David Friel · January 1, 2014

Fruitful Virginity

Flaming, Yet Unconsumed

Jeff Ostrowski · November 6, 2013

“For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours”

A mystery! The 1970s ICEL seems not to have included these words, even though they were in the official Latin …

Jeff Ostrowski · October 25, 2013

How Bad Was It?

Someday, my children might ask: “Do you remember the first ICEL translation of the Roman Missal?”

Fr. David Friel · October 20, 2013

What to Do with the Prayer of the Faithful

A Critique

Corpus Christi Watershed · October 17, 2013

Celebrating the Golden Jubilee of ICEL in Rome

Maestro Charles Cole strikes again!

Jeff Ostrowski · June 26, 2013

Gregorian Missal With The New Translation!

Can anyone help me understand this sentence in the Foreword?

Organ Accompaniment • “Kyrie IV”

Fans of Gregorian Chant may wish to download the organ accompaniment (PDF file) I created for KYRIE IV a.k.a. Cunctipotens genitor Deus. It adheres to the official rhythm and was inspired by Flor Peeters (a famous Belgian organist and composer who studied with Oscar De Puydt at the LEMMENSINSTITUUT).

—Jeff Ostrowski

Which Gospel Acclamations?

Some have asked which Gospel acclamations (“Alleluia”) we use at my church. We use this gorgeous printed resource available on AMAZON PRIME. Once both congregation and cantor have sung their parts, our choir launches into a beautiful SATB “choral extension” (cf. Saint Noël Chabanel Mass Setting).

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • Immaculate Conception

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Immaculate Conception (9 December 2024). It’s in the third mode—which some consider the most beautiful of all—and mimics the authentic version in a laudable 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

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