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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Main Content

Latest Posts

The Choir Journal: A Choir Director’s Best Friend

May 27, 2023 By Keven Smith

Keep a repository of your choir-related thoughts and feelings. You’ll thank yourself someday.

“Are Church Musicians Paid Enough?” • 5 Solutions

May 26, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

With a digression on Corrinne May’s upcoming presentation.

Analysis • “Archaic and Quack Ideas on Chant”

May 24, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

“Gentlemen: Nobody is going to follow the archaic and quack ideas on Chant you are trying to propagate.” Mr. John Sandar

“Singing Advice” • Frank Sinatra to Ronald Reagan

May 23, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Did Dom Mocquereau compose any official plainsong pieces included in the official edition? He did!

Musician, Know Thy Theology!

May 22, 2023 By Daniel Tucker

Dear reader, it is up to you to ensure that the theological content of the music at your parish is faithful to the unchanging teachings of the holy Catholic Church.

“Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary” • (Hymn)

May 19, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

My colleague, Patrick Williams, has given me permission to share with our audience a recording his choir made.

Sacred Music • Inspiring Letter From “Jane Doe”

May 18, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

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

Understanding “Bewitched” Can Help You Appreciate Classical Music

May 17, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

There was no explanation given for why “Darrin Stephens” was suddenly a completely different person.

Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Jeff’s Third Response to Patrick” (16 May 2023)

May 16, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

I don’t think our readers are interested in what we say about Gregorian rhythm—they’re interested only in what we can demonstrate.

PDF Download • César Franck Book of Gregorian Chant Accompaniments (156 Pages)

May 16, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

“The organ is so universally used as an accompanying instrument today that there is a pressing need to provide a written accompaniment…” —César Franck

Revealed! • Kevin Allen’s Setting of the “Confíteor Deo Omnipoténti” (SATB) for Compline

May 16, 2023 By Andrea Leal

I find this melody hauntingly gorgeous.

Sacred Music Institute at Mount St. Mary’s, Cincinnati

May 15, 2023 By Patrick Williams

July 19–21 Sacred Music Institute “Inheritors of Heaven: The Call to Eucharistic Worship”

Terrific Pentecost Hymn You’ve Not Heard Before!

May 13, 2023 By Veronica Moreno

Certainly the most beautiful capital “Q” I’ve ever seen!

PDF Download • Extremely Rare! Organ Accompaniment Book (165 pages)

May 11, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Including an “added bonus” I discovered while researching Julius Bas (an Italian musicologist and organist).

7 Suggestions • “Winning the Sacred Music Crusade”

May 10, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

If we truly believe what we say we believe, how can we allow goofy, off-Broadway, secular, casual music at Mass?

Bricklayer

Dr. Lucas Tappan • “Open Letter to Discouraged Musicians”

May 7, 2023 By Lucas Tappan

I mentioned to my (much younger) assistant that certain battles I will no longer fight. She told me I was becoming bitter—but I can honestly say that isn’t the case.

PDF Download • “Brief Choral Alleluia” (Suitable for the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form)

May 6, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Too many priests are ignorant of the glories of authentic sacred music.

PDF Download • “Vespers Accompaniment Booklet” (Fifth Sunday after Easter) — 20 pages

May 5, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

To recruit, teach, inspire, and retain volunteer choir members is no easy task!

Six (6) Pernicious Hymn Pairings

May 4, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

The current situation is heartbreaking.

Should Chant Be Accompanied On The Organ?

May 2, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

As late as 1924, Dom Mocquereau mentioned Dom Desrocquettes “whose beautiful and discreet accompaniments I hear every day at Solesmes.”

My Student Singing Byrd Will Make You Weep!

April 30, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Today we release polyphony by two composers: William Byrd and William Fritz.

Conducting Tip: Use the Whole Body

April 29, 2023 By Keven Smith

Are you aware of your legs? And do you know why that matters for a choir conductor?

Photograph • Pope Saint Paul VI Distributes Holy Communion (Kneeling, On The Tongue)

April 29, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

How dare we—who are so sinful—how dare we receive our Lord?

Introit • “Jubiláte Déo” (3rd Sunday after Easter)

April 29, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Sung according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church.

PDF Download • “English Hymns for Three Voices” (SSA), edited by Dr. Theodore Marier—182 pages

April 27, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

My choir will definitely be using these settings. They’re something many have begged for!

More Posts from this Category

PDF Downloads

“Regína Caéli Laetáre” • 18 organ accompaniments

April 12, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Plainsong sung poorly—in a sluggish, lifeless manner—can leave a bad taste in people’s mouths.

Three (3) Tricks Every Choir Director Should Learn

March 28, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Conscientious choirmasters know it’s crucial to get “as much bang for your buck” as possible.

PDF Download • “Organ Accompaniment Booklet” (Passion Sunday Vespers) — 24 pages

March 27, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Fulton J. Sheen considered Monsignor Knox’s English translation of the Bible to be the greatest ever created.

“Solesmes Ictus” • Can It Be Justified? (Examples)

March 15, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

“If you begin by telling a man that in a word like 𝐷𝑒𝑢𝑠 the first syllable corresponds to the weak beat, the second to the strong beat of a modern bar, the only thing accomplished will be to bewilder him thoroughly.” —Father Bewerunge

PDF Download • “Spanish Missal for the Traditional Latin Mass” (Madrid, 1961) — 860 pages!

March 7, 2023 By Andrea Leal

Let me explain why this 1961 Spanish Missal is so important.

“Greatest Choral Piece Ever Written” • What Is It?

March 1, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

By March 1596 Marenzio had arrived in Poland. In October of that year, he directed a Mass he’d written in the form of an “echo.”

More Posts from this Category

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Contributors

avatar for Jeff OstrowskiJeff Ostrowski
Los Angeles, California
avatar for Keven SmithKeven Smith
Sacramento, California
avatar for Daniel TuckerDaniel Tucker
South Bend, Indiana
avatar for Andrea LealAndrea Leal
Las Vegas, Nevada
avatar for Patrick WilliamsPatrick Williams
Phoenix, Arizona
avatar for Veronica MorenoVeronica Moreno
West Covina, California
avatar for Lucas TappanLucas Tappan
Topeka, Kansas
avatar for Veronica BrandtVeronica Brandt
Sydney, Australia
avatar for Fr. David FrielFr. David Friel
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
avatar for Charles WeaverCharles Weaver
Norwalk, Connecticut
avatar for Matthew FrederesMatthew Frederes
El Dorado Hills, California
avatar for Dr. Gregory HamiltonDr. Gregory Hamilton
Dallas, Texas
avatar for Richard J. ClarkRichard J. Clark
Boston, Massachusetts
avatar for Corrinne MayCorrinne May
Singapore
avatar for Cynthia OstrowskiCynthia Ostrowski
Los Angeles, California
avatar for William J. FritzWilliam J. Fritz
Orange County, CA
avatar for Dr. Alfred CalabreseDr. Alfred Calabrese
Dallas, Texas
avatar for Christopher MuellerChristopher Mueller
Louisville, Kentucky
avatar for Wilfrid JonesWilfrid Jones
Cambridge, UK

Random Quote

At papal Masses, the regulations against tardiness were more stringent than at Masses celebrated by cardinals or bishops. Giovanni Maria Nanino records that any singer who is not in his place—and in his vestments—by the end of the repetition of the “Introit” will be fined eight vinti. At papal Vespers, the singer who is not present at the “Gloria Patri” of the first psalm pays a fine of fifty balocchi.

— Giovanni M. Nanino (d. 1607), Papal “Maestro di Cappella”

Recent Posts

  • PDF • “For the Season of Pentecost”
  • The Choir Journal: A Choir Director’s Best Friend
  • “Are Church Musicians Paid Enough?” • 5 Solutions
  • Analysis • “Archaic and Quack Ideas on Chant”
  • “Singing Advice” • Frank Sinatra to Ronald Reagan

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.