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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

“Seventy-Three (73) Changes” • Which Pope Pius XII Made to Holy Week

March 29, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

If we feel compelled to condemn these changes, let’s at least spend time learning what they are!

Help! • Seeking “Machine Gun” Singing Technique

April 1, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

It was without question the wildest thing I ever heard.

Three (3) Cheerful Items • “Sacred Music Revolution”

April 1, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Dallas, Singapore, Los Angeles…there’s so much good in the world!

Who Should Sing the Passion? What about Tracts?

March 31, 2023 By Patrick Williams

“I am of the opinion that women are not to participate in the singing of the crowd parts and that the manner of alternation in the tract is merely a matter of custom, preference, or practicality.” —Patrick Williams

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.

Question: “How Do You Read The Official Edition?”

March 27, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

A reader asks: “No Dotted Neumes?”

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.

Vespers for Easter Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

March 25, 2023 By Veronica Brandt

A ramble about open source software and three PDF files for 1962 Vespers for Ferias 4-6 in the Octave of Easter.

Hidden Gem: Ave Regina Caelorum (Steven Talley)

March 24, 2023 By Keven Smith

This sweet, simple SATB motet provides a contrast to heavier, darker Lenten repertoire. But it’s going out of season soon.

Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide

March 23, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

“In nothing are English Catholics so poor as in vernacular hymns. The real badness of most of our popular hymns (endeared, unfortunately, to the people by association) surpasses anything that could otherwise be imagined.” —Father Fortescue

“Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever

March 21, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

As Americans, we’re “bred from birth” to think of ourselves as little gods who already know everything and require no correction.

At the Cross • Stabat Mater

March 20, 2023 By Patrick Williams

“The devotional version of this hymn employs a later tune erroneously called ‘plainsong’ in various sources.” —Patrick Williams

Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2023

March 20, 2023 By Fr. David Friel

The Ward Method is a classical pedagogy designed for pre-K through eighth grade music classes in Catholic schools.

PDF Download • Vespers Organ Accomp. Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent) — 24 pages

March 19, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

This is probably too late … but there’s always next year!

Mass and Motets

March 18, 2023 By Veronica Brandt

This little booklet has had a long influence on choirs, but isn’t very widely known. How many of these pieces are you familiar with?

Sneaky “Salicus” Statements by Solesmes

March 18, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Let there be no mistake about it: Dom Mocquereau (illicitly) added the “salicus” in hundreds of places where the official edition has none.

“Lætáre Jerúsalem” • Introit (4th Sunday of Lent)

March 16, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Sung according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church.

“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

Ictus Fictus!

March 15, 2023 By Patrick Williams

“Hardly any of this made-up system has its basis in medieval music theory or in the manuscripts themselves.”—Patrick Williams

Rhetoric, Number, Measure, and Historicism

March 13, 2023 By Charles Weaver

The beginnings of a response to mensuralism from the classic Solesmes point of view.

The Cathedral and Diocese of Leeds Expands Its Musical Outreach Yet Again

March 10, 2023 By Lucas Tappan

In my own diocese, “The Catholic Academy of Sacred Music” was incorporated for that very purpose last summer.

Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Clap Your Hands!” (10 Mar 2023)

March 10, 2023 By Patrick Williams

“With my questions unanswered by those objecting to rhythmic markings based on the oldest sources, it is difficult to take their arguments seriously.” —Patrick Williams

PDF Download • Belgian “Ordinary of the Mass” (Organ Accompaniment) — 191 pages

March 9, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

This volume has been professionally scanned—and you’ll love the results!

Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New

March 7, 2023 By Charles Weaver

Every Gregorian melody is a precious gift, and every time we meet a melody again, we have a chance to consider some new aspect.

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.

Grant Awarded for Digitizing Over 400,000 Pages of Ancient Solesmes Manuscripts

March 6, 2023 By Matthew Frederes

REPERTORIUM has been awarded a large grant to scan and digitize over 400,000 ancient manuscript images from the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes archive.

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PDF Downloads

“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.”

PDF Download • “Quinquagesima Sunday” Organ Accompaniment Booklet (25 pages)

February 20, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

The word “Alleluia” changes to: “Praise be to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory.”

PDF • 2014 Dissertation: “Plainchant Influence on the Liturgical Music of Dr. Marier” (324 pages)

February 15, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

This treatise (324 pages) is a “must read” for anyone who cares about liturgical music in the Catholic Church.

PDF Download • “Gorgeous Image!”

February 9, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

Saint John Mary Vianney (d. 1859) is one of my favorite saints. Our readers will want to download this gorgeous stained glass window which depicts Father Vianney, the holy Curé d’Ars.

PDF Download • Symposium Kyrie Revealed

February 8, 2023 By Jeff Ostrowski

People often complain: “Catholic priests won’t pay a living wage for choir directors, yet gladly pay millions to purchase a pipe organ.”

Filling Up Fast! • Sacred Music Symposium

February 1, 2023 By Corpus Christi Watershed

“The Sacred Music Symposium was a vehicle of grace that changed my life.” —2019 Participant

More Posts from this Category

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Contributors

avatar for Jeff OstrowskiJeff Ostrowski
Los Angeles, California
avatar for Patrick WilliamsPatrick Williams
Phoenix, Arizona
avatar for Veronica BrandtVeronica Brandt
Sydney, Australia
avatar for Keven SmithKeven Smith
Sacramento, California
avatar for Fr. David FrielFr. David Friel
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
avatar for Charles WeaverCharles Weaver
Norwalk, Connecticut
avatar for Lucas TappanLucas Tappan
Topeka, Kansas
avatar for Andrea LealAndrea Leal
Las Vegas, Nevada
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 Daniel TuckerDaniel Tucker
South Bend, Indiana
avatar for Corrinne MayCorrinne May
Singapore
avatar for Veronica MorenoVeronica Moreno
West Covina, California
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

In the place of liturgy as the fruit of development came fabricated liturgy. We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over centuries, and replaced it—as in a manufacturing process—with a fabrication, a banal on-the-spot product.

— ‘Pope Benedict XVI, describing the postconciliar liturgical reforms’

Recent Posts

  • Help! • Seeking “Machine Gun” Singing Technique
  • Three (3) Cheerful Items • “Sacred Music Revolution”
  • Who Should Sing the Passion? What about Tracts?
  • “Seventy-Three (73) Changes” • Which Pope Pius XII Made to Holy Week
  • Three (3) Tricks Every Choir Director Should Learn

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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.