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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Greatest Blog Entry Ever Of All Time

Jeff Ostrowski · November 8, 2012

RE YOU A PERSON who frequently reads Blogs? I bet you’ve been waiting for the “perfect” Blog entry to come along—the one you’ve been dreaming about all these years. Well, guess what? This is it, because I have something amazing to share with you. I hope you’ll take the time to read what I have to say, and I hope you enjoy what I share. I also really hope I can finish typing this Blog before my daughter wakes up (the poor thing hasn’t been feeling well and I need to help take care of her).

First, you need the back story. I will explain it the way they explained it to me in Musicology Graduate school: hopefully I remember all the details correctly. You might pull down the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians to “fact check” this entry. You see, most people don’t realize that Bach was actually a piano salesman toward the end of his life. In connection with this, he went to visit Frederick the Great of Prussia, who was also the employer of Bach’s son. Frederick was a musician, and wrote Bach an extremely complicated theme. He said to Bach, “I bet you can’t write a fugue on this theme!” Well, in case you don’t know, Johann Sebastian Bach was an astounding musical genius, one of the very greatest of all time. He took Frederick’s theme and wrote several unbelievable canonic variations on it called the “Musical Offering.”

Now for Part II of the story. Edwin Fischer was a phenomenal Swiss pianist who was particularly interested in the music of Bach. He arranged this “Musical Offering” for his chamber group and recorded it several times. At the conservatory where I studied piano, Sequeira Costa was an Artist in Residence. I was friends with most of his students, and one of them gave me a live recording of Edwin Fischer conducting his arrangement of part of the “Musical Offering.” By the way, Costa and Fischer toured together many years ago, playing four-hand music. I had heard the Fischer recording many times, and loved it, but I had never heard this particular “live” version before.

Here is an excerpt:  Excerpt of Live Recording / Edwin Fischer, Conductor [Mp3]

Listen to how it starts out very soft and slow. You can tell the fugue subject is quite complicated and chromatic. As you continue to listen, you will notice that Bach builds … builds … and builds. The culmination will melt your heart. It is tremendously beautiful and passionate: even after all these years, I start crying when I hear it. I feel tingles down my spine.

I hope to add more Blog entries as time goes on. There is so much unbelievable music I would love to talk about and share with you. By the way, I love music so much, I tend to use (abuse?) words like “favorite’: “best ever”; “most amazing”; etc.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Parish Priests have to think first of the simple faithful: people now used to the Roman Missal at Mass. They don’t want change.”

— Cardinal Spellman (one of the Vatican II fathers)

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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