Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for March 2012

Fr. David Friel · March 21, 2012

St. Joseph Triduum — Installment No. 3

Part 3 of 3: Joseph of Nazareth

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Fr. David Friel · March 19, 2012

St. Joseph Triduum — Installment No. 2

Part 2 of 3: Joseph of Arimathea

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Fr. David Friel · March 15, 2012

St. Joseph Triduum — Installment No. 1

Part 1 of 3: Joseph of Egypt

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 15, 2012

Hymns: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know (2 of 2)

PART 2: How do hymns fit into the Catholic Mass ?

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 15, 2012

Hymns: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know (1 of 2)

PART 1: What is a Catholic “hymn” ?

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 13, 2012

Mass Propers: Confusion Resolved

A brief summary: What are the Mass Propers?

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Fr. David Friel · March 9, 2012

The Artist

A Monumental Mission

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Fr. David Friel · March 4, 2012

Women’s Liberation

One Mother’s Story

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Fr. David Friel · March 1, 2012

Response to the Flood

Love the Church

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Calling Dr. Weaver!

A remarkable exposition of the “mora vocis” (published in 1953 in the Netherlands) which doesn’t shy away from a certain item!

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—Jeff Ostrowski

SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

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—Jeff Ostrowski

Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!

The sumptuous melody called “JESU LEIDEN PEIN UND TOD” appears no fewer than three times in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal and is harmonized with standard Common Practice Era SATB voice leading and harmonies (which is only natural). However, one who takes the time to examine what Sebastian Bach did with that tune will encounter an incredibly dissonant sound. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more dissonant sound—in the entire Baroque era—than what I highlighted in yellow on that excerpt. Please let me know if you disagree.

—Jeff Ostrowski

‘Ould’ But Not Good

Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026

A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Time and Again We Are Asked…

John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.

—Jeff Ostrowski