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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Coming Full Circle in the Circle City

Andrew R. Motyka · July 3, 2013

his whole blogging thing can be a difficult thing to manage on a schedule (not to mention my children’s supernatural sense that something productive is happening in this room right now). “Come up with something good to talk about, right now” is not one of my talents. Talking? I’m a master (just ask my wife). Having something substantive to say, not so much. Therefore, I was grateful when Jeff Ostrowski gave me a great idea for this week: the CMAA Colloquium, specifically next year’s installment. Allow me to express my excitement.

My first experience with the Church Music Association of America came when I attended the Colloquium in 2010 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I was living about a half hour away and it was an easy commute. As most people who have attended will tell you, it is nothing less than sublime, musically. You spend all week mingling and learning, but mostly singing. When is the last time you got to do so much singing? My interest in Gregorian chant and the restoration of the sacred in liturgical music was already in full swing, but the Colloquium was positively energizing, and fed me with information and the knowledge that there were like-minded people out there. Also, I met a guy named Jeff Ostrowski. I was able to attend again in 2011 (mainly because of some generosity from CMAA for which I am grateful), furthering my appreciation for the organization and this beautiful annual event.

I was unable to attend the Colloquium for the following two year in Salt Lake City, both because of distance and due to circumstances evolving in my professional life. When I began at my current position as the Archdiocesan Director of Music in Indianapolis, I thought, “At some point, I’m going to try to get CMAA to bring the Colloquium here.”

Well the Lord works in mysterious and frequently hilariously in-your-face ways. Since I was settled, I contacted CMAA to ask if there was anything I could help with, despite not being able to attend the Colloquium this year, and I was greeted with, “So how do you think Indianapolis would be for hosting a Colloquium?” In a veritable hurricane of productivity, Arlene Oost-Zinner made it happen. The 2014 CMAA Colloquium will be in Indianapolis.

The Downtown Sheraton will be the site of the rehearsals and breakouts, which is right on center circle from which the city gets its nickname. Only a few blocks away, we will celebrate at the historic Saint John the Evangelist Church, a beautiful place to worship. St. John is currently undergoing a thorough renovation due to a fire this past Lent, and will be in its best condition in years by the time of next year’s musical get-together.

The 2014 CMAA Colloquium promises once again to be a “slice of musical heaven,” as it has been called before. I hope to see many of you there.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“The idea that the Roman basilica is the ideal design for a Christian church building because it made it possible for the priest and the people to face one another is complete nonsense. That would have been the last thing that the early Christians had in mind.”

— Father Louis Bouyer

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