Views from the Choir Loft

Sacred Music Symposium 2023

Jeff Ostrowski · June 18, 2023

Theological…

The 330-page booklet for Sacred Music Symposium contains more than just fabulous and inspiring music. Little theological ‘tidbits’ cover its pages. For example, consider Page 265. You can download a PDF copy of the entire booklet at the Symposium website.

Corpus Christi Watershed · June 13, 2023

A Message For You! • (From Natalia Ferreiro)

Exciting news for the sacred music world—regarding something important starting next week.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 18, 2023

Sacred Music • Inspiring Letter From “Jane Doe”

Letters like this prove there are still awesome people in this world!

Jeff Ostrowski · May 7, 2023

Symposium Booklet (330 Pages)

As of 6 May 2023, anyone who wishes to may download the COMPLETED BOOKLET (330 pages) which was created for participants of Sacred Music Symposium 2023. Those who were accepted to participate in this year’s conference will be presented with their own (hard-copy) printed version of this breathtaking booklet. The faculty this year includes Professor […]

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.”

“Silent Night” • Easy Organ Arrangement

Here’s an organ accompaniment (PDF) in three different key signatures: MIDDLE, HIGH, and LOW. The Latin lyrics (“Silens Nox”) are courtesy of Father Valentine Young, OFM (d. 2020). The organ harmonies are very simple, yet beautiful. Those who desire such a thing may also download a Singer’s Version. Choirs will ‘pick up’ this piece up with minimal rehearsal time. Here’s a live recording from Midnight Mass from a few years ago: LIVE RECORDING.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Chart For Each Mode”

On 13 December, Dr. Weaver posted an article about the EIGHT CHURCH MODES. I thought it might be helpful to create this mode chart (PDF) which gives the various names for each mode of Gregorian Chant. If you notice any errors, please let me know!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Year’s End Appeal • “Asking for Help”

We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment; we have no major donors; we run no advertisements; we have no savings. As 2024 comes to a close, we could really use your financial support—especially if you have never donated before. Click here to securely donate with any major credit card. Thank you very much!

—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