Views from the Choir Loft

Sacred Music Symposium (2018)

Corpus Christi Watershed · June 3, 2018

HE SUCCESS of the Symposium has exceeded anything its founders could have hoped for. With great excitement and gratitude to God, we announce our third annual event, designed especially for (but certainly not limited to) choir directors. ¹

* * PDF Download • Testimonials from 2017|
* * PDF Download • OFFICIAL SCHEDULE for 2018

Read about what happened in 2018, and watch videos!

Not to be missed is marker 59:47 of the final Mass.

Each year we retain familiar faces while adding fresh faculty and events:

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Full Resolution Poster : (PNG) • (PDF)

Excited about this 2018 event?

To receive your application, kindly email dom.mocquereau@gmail.com before the 31 March deadline. Space is limited. Thanks to a generous grant, the conference fee is just $85.00—in addition to the mandatory application fee. Purchasing the meal plan ($145) is recommended, so that you can enjoy a week of catered meals. During the same week, at the same location, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter will be conducting an Altar Server training camp and private instruction for priests. (Information on these will be released soon.)

From the 2016 Symposium :

2016 • TESTIMONIALS from 2016|
2016 • REHEARSAL the first day|
2016 • REHEARSAL in the Church|
2016 • FINAL CEREMONY with Archbishop Gomez|
2016 • VIDEO PRESENATION explaining the goals

From the 2017 Symposium :

2017 • SLIDE SHOW|
2017 • REHEARSAL FOOTAGE|
2017 • ALLELUIA & IMPROVISATION|
2017 • HOSANNA “Live”

90283 • Los Angeles • Sacred Music Symposium 2017

90282 • Los Angeles • Sacred Music Symposium 2017

90281 • Los Angeles • Sacred Music Symposium 2017

Examples of faculty in past years: Dr. Alfred Calabrese, Dr. Lucas Tappan, Pete Avendaño, and Dr. Meaghan King.

All Symposium events will take place at St. Therese in Alhambra (1100 E Alhambra Rd, Alhambra, CA 91801) with its magnificent organ.

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 Those who aren’t professional musicians (but love singing) will take delight in learning from friendly conductors who are the world’s experts. Don’t let fear prevent you from attending!

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

Music List • (4th Sunday of Lent)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 4th Sunday of Lent (15 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has sublime propers. It is most often referred to as “Lætare Sunday” owing to its INTROIT. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • Communion (4th Snd. Lent)

The COMMUNION ANTIPHON for this coming Sunday, which is the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A), is particularly beautiful. There’s something irresistible about this tone; it’s neither happy nor sad. As always, I encourage readers to visit the flourishing feasts website, where the complete Propria Missae may be downloaded free of charge.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Good Friday Flowers

Good Friday has a series of prayers for various parties: the pope, catechumens, pagans, heretics, schismatics, and so forth. In the old liturgical books, there was no official ‘name’ for these prayers. (This wasn’t unusual as ‘headers’ and ‘titles’ for each section is a rather modern idea.) The Missal simply instructed the priest to go to the Epistle side and begin. In the SHERBORNE MISSAL, each prayer begins with a different—utterly spectacular—flower. This PDF file shows the first few prayers. Has anyone counted the ‘initial’ drop-cap flowers in the SHERBORNE MISSAL? Surely there are more than 1,000.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Stumped by “Episcopalian Hymnal” (1910)

Some consider Songs of Syon (1910) the greatest Episcopalian hymnal ever printed. As a Roman Catholic, I have no right to weigh in one way or the other. However, this particular page has me stumped. I just know I’ve heard that tune somewhere! If you can help, please email me. I’m talking about the text which begins: “This is the day the Lord hath made; In unbeclouded light array’d.” The book is by George Ratcliffe Woodward, and its complete title is: Songs of Syon: A Collection of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. Back in 2016, Corpus Christi Watershed scanned and uploaded this insanely rare book. For years our website was the sole place one could download it as a PDF file.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation

It isn’t easy to determine what Alice King MacGilton hoped to accomplish with her very popular book—A Study of Latin Hymns (1918)—which continued to be reprinted in new editions for at least 34 years. This PDF file shows her attempt to translate the DIES IRAE “in the fewest words possible.” There’s a place for dynamic equivalency, but this is repugnant. In particular, look what she does to “Quærens me sedísti lassus.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”

For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.

—Jeff Ostrowski