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Views from the Choir Loft

Reflections On Playing The Piano At Church

Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2013

In my experiences as a Catholic Church musician, the following conversation has often occurred:

    “Jeff, why don’t you ever play the piano at Mass? Why do you play only the pipe organ?”
    “Because the piano is too much of an emotional, sentimental instrument.”
    “But the piano can be very beautiful.”
    “I agree that the piano can be very beautiful, but the correct musical instruments ought to be used in the correct
    places at the correct times.”

    “OK, Jeff, you agree the piano is beautiful. Well, God is beautiful. Why not play piano at Mass? It moves me.”
    “When it comes to the Church’s public worship of Almighty God and the reënactment of the sacrifice of
    Calvary, we have to make sure that the music is of a certain seriousness, loftiness, and dignity.”

    “You probably just don’t like the piano, Jeff.“

In conversations like these, I’ve never had any success convincing people that I love the piano. I keep saying, “I love the piano, but it is not a sacred instrument.” And the other person keeps saying, “You probably don’t like the piano. That’s why you don’t think it belongs in Church.” To “prove” I love the piano, I would like to share with you two recordings I made while still a sophomore in high school (1998). You can tell these are “live” recordings (no editing) because towards the end of the MacDowell, you can hear members of my family talking and then slamming the door.

                          •    
                    Edward MacDowell Etude de Concert    •        Nikolai Medtner Fairy Tale

Pope St. Pius X wrote in an official Church document (1903): “The employment of the piano is forbidden in church, as is also that of noisy or frivolous instruments such as drums, cymbals, bells and the like.” Although the piano is one of the most beautiful instruments, I do agree with Pope Pius X. It is a highly emotional percussive instrument not suited for the public worship of Almighty God. I love the piano, but not in Church.

“Music is to be heard, not seen”

EOPLE who didn’t like children very much used to say, “Children are to be seen not heard.” In other words, children were to keep their mouths shut. In my mind, however, music is to heard not seen. I think watching people make music distracts from the pure joy that comes from listening. I’m sure others will disagree strongly with this opinion of mine. Below are video versions the same two recordings (from above). I simply cannot focus on the music as well when my eyes are “watching” something: do you agree?

      


Incidentally, I also think there are many reasons why the choir or cantor at Mass should not become a “center of attention.” Pius X seems to agree, when he said: “It will also be fitting that singers while singing in church wear the ecclesiastical habit and surplice, and that they be hidden behind gratings when the choir is excessively open to the public gaze.”

Piano Culture

Not only was the piano a huge part of my life for many years, but the whole culture of the “golden age pianists” played a huge role in my life. I drew many sketches of the great pianists, and here are some examples:

When all was said and done, I think I must have drawn about forty (40) great pianists total: Ignaz Friedman, Josef Lhevinne, Leopold Godowski, Wiktor Labunski, and many others. However, my sketches were nothing compared to those of my mother, who has a natural talent for art:

My mother drew that picture of the great Anton Rubinstein in about twenty minutes — what amazing talent!

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Ralph Vaughan Williams “was an atheist during his later years at Charterhouse and at Cambridge, though he later drifted into a cheerful agnosticism: he was never a professing Christian.”

— Dr. William Mahrt, CMAA President (2021)

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