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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

“Look Beyond The Bread You Eat” (Part 1)

Jeff Ostrowski · November 18, 2013

ERTAIN THINGS SEEM self-evident to me, yet other people have a completely different view. For example, observing our children I see a million daily miracles: the way their brains develop, the way their bodies grow perfectly, the way their tiny teeth come in, and so forth. Such things could not be the result of “blind luck.” God even “spaces” children naturally, allowing us to practice our parenting skills without being overwhelmed. To me, God’s perfect designs couldn’t be more obvious. Yet, some believe everything was caused by “dumb luck.”

I’ll never forget being in graduate school and hearing one of the professors (whose field was Renaissance polyphony) explain that the singers in those days “probably couldn’t sing in tune.” In this condemnation were included the masters themselves — Marenzio, Victoria, Palestrina, etc. — who were often hired as singers (not composers), although this might strike us as odd. Recalling this statement (even so many years later) makes my brain explode with rage. After all, those who study Renaissance polyphony realize the intricate, nay, delicate way the music is constructed. The chordal structure * is carefully built following certain sonic rules — don’t double the third, avoid certain inversions, etc. — which is partially why their music sounds so magnificent. Would such attention have been paid to detail if the singers at that time couldn’t sing in tune? That would be like some historian 400 years from now explaining our culture (which puts such effort into building the most perfect vehicles) and declaring, “Well, nobody back then actually drove those vehicles.”

I am reminded of an interview with a modern pianist (I believe it was Murray Perahia). The interviewer said, “If you could go back in time and meet one composer, and hear him play, who would it be?” The pianist said, “Johannes Brahms.” Really? Brahms? I mean, Brahms was certainly a wonderful composer … but what an odd choice and what a sad testimony to our modern musicians. After all, we can more or less surmise what Brahms sounded like — and we even have a faint recording of his playing. Why not J.S. Bach? Or, even better, why not Palestrina, Victoria, or Lassus? Or why not Morales? Wouldn’t that be something? To hear what those choirs really sounded like!

*   Musicologists are liable to blow a blood vessel if they read this, because it’s forbidden to mention “chords” in the same sentence as Renaissance music. However, when it comes to music of the High Renaissance (more or less after 1550), the evidence of a “chordal sense” is there for all to see, and incredibly inconvenient for certain “accepted” theories.

This article is part of a series:

Part 1   •   Part 2

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Contract Between Priest And Musician Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(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

“Like all other liturgical functions, like offices and ranks in the Church, indeed like everything else in the world, the religious service that we call the Mass existed long before it had a special technical name.”

— ‘Rev. Adrian Fortescue (THE MASS, page 397)’

Recent Posts

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  • The Tallis Scholars

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