Views from the Choir Loft

New England Pueri Cantores Choral Festival and Mass • Cathedral of the Holy Cross

Richard J. Clark · November 22, 2019

OPE FRANCIS recently said, “Do not forget this: Liturgy is the first ‘teacher’ of catechism.” Singing liturgical music from our rich Roman Catholic tradition isn’t just about the music, but nurturing faith through the Sacred Liturgy.

I encourage Choir Directors to bring all treble and mixed voice choirs (grades 4-12) to the newly renovated Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on Saturday, March 21, 2020 for the American Federation Pueri Cantores New England Choral Festival and Mass.

• Registration, and brochure:

• REGISTER ONLINE HERE

• PDF Download • New England Catholic Youth Choral Festival and Mass • 2020.

Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Robert P. Reed, President of Catholic TV and Auxiliary Bishop of Boston. Nationally celebrated conductor, Dr. Richard Robbins will conduct, and I will personally accompany the Mass and rehearsals.

• Eight Professional Development Credits will be extended to conductors of participating choirs!

• MP3 audio recordings and downloadable scores will are available for participating choirs.

I encourage choir directors to consider this festival not only for strong singers, but also for those for whom this may be a welcome challenge. The environment is nurturing, positive, and joyful!

For questions or information click here to email me.

I look forward to welcoming all of you to the Cathedral to share in this beautiful and prayerful event!

Richard J. Clark
Director of Music
Archdiocese of Boston
Cathedral of the Holy Cross

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

About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

Music List • (5th Sund. Ordinary Time)

Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for this coming Sunday, 8 February 2026, which is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. You will probably notice it isn’t as ‘complete’ or ‘spiffy’ as usual, owing to some difficulties which took place this week.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Communion” (5th Sunday in Ordin.)

The COMMUNION ANTIPHON for this coming Sunday, 8 February 2026—which is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)—is truly delightful. You can download the musical score completely free of charge. This text will be familiar to altar boys, because it’s PSALM 42. The Feder Missal makes the following claim about that psalm: “A hymn of a temple musician from Jerusalem: he is an exile in a heathen land, and he longs for the holy city and his ministry in the Temple there. The Church makes his words her own.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Funeral Music “Template” • For Families

Many have requested the MUSICAL TEMPLATE for funerals we give to families at our parish. The family of the deceased is usually involved in selecting Number 12 on that sheet. This template was difficult to assemble, because the “Ordo Exsequiarum” has never been translated into English, and the assigned chants and hymns are given in different liturgical books (Lectionary, Gradual, Order of Christian Funerals, and so on). Please notify me if you spot errors or broken links. Readers will be particularly interested in some of the plainsong musical settings, which are truly haunting in their beauty.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reminder” — Month of Febr. (2026)

On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. It couldn’t be easier to subscribe! Just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”

I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)

I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.

—Jeff Ostrowski