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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

Famous Conductor Fired Because He Refused To Sing Hymn

Jeff Ostrowski · February 16, 2013

PON FIRST READING the below letter, I was shocked. Initially, I was shocked that such a letter, containing as it does “personal business,” would be printed in the Sacred Music Journal (Winter of 2002). That just seems like a really bad idea. However, as I pondered this letter, I realized that this was one of the best letters that could be printed, as it shows the type of struggles and hurt feelings that choirmasters must endure.

The reader might be very surprised that I am not angry at the priest (see below). As a matter of fact, I see both sides of the “problem” or “argument” or whatever. This is nothing new. This happens all the time.

For this reason, I have renewed in my heart the desire to create a series of articles on “Views from the Choir Loft,” formulating a type of “contract” between priest and musician. I don’t know how many articles I will write: maybe five, maybe fifty. I will think of some clever heading, which will make it easier for folks to find all the articles and read them in succession. Believe it or not, I really have thought about this subject A LOT over the years. I will explain my thoughts and opinions, which mainly come from real experiences in my life.

However, for now, I will simply reproduce the letter, and invite you to read it over and think about it. If you prefer to read the original, it is here [pdf].

A sad form letter sent out October 29th by Mr. Dean Applegate:

“As you may have already heard, Cantores in Ecclesia is no longer in residence at St. Patrick’s Church in Northwest Portland. The decision to leave was made in response to memoranda from the pastor, Fr. James Mayo, on the 7th of October. One memo contained his ultimatum regarding the replacement of Gregorian Introits and Graduals with opening hymns and responsorial psalms at the Saturday evening Latin Mass. In this memo he also gave deadlines for these changes to be implemented: Saturday, October 12 for the Introit and Saturday, October 19 for the Gradual. The other memo from Fr. Mayo forbade the use of the choir room for music lessons, effective Monday, October 21.

“On the 15th of October, I received an additional memo from Fr. Mayo, ‘Just double checking to make sure we are both on the same page about music this coming weekend. It is my expectation that there will be an Entrance/Gathering Hymn and some kind of Responsorial Psalm. This is predicated, based on your memo of last week, on your continuing here at St. Patrick’s. Thank you for your cooperation.’

“After much soul searching and consultation with members of the choir and board of directors, I decided that Fr. Mayo’s restrictions regarding the liturgy and the choir’s use of facilities were not acceptable. I notified him about this decision in a letter of October 17. At that time I also requested that the choir be permitted to sing through the month of October because services had already been advertised in our monthly newsletter. On the same day I got a further memo from Fr. Mayo informing me that the choir would be permitted to sing on Saturday, October 19, but that this would be our last Mass at St. Patrick’s.

The Saturday evening Mass on the 19th was a most gratifying and poignant experience for Cantores in Ecclesia. The sadness of the occasion was underlined by Fr. Mayo’s announcement at the end of the service that he was cancelling the Latin Mass …”

The website for Cantores in Ecclesia is cantoresinecclesia.org [url].

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

“The authority of the Pope is not unlimited. It is at the service of Sacred Tradition. Still less is any kind of general ‘freedom’ of manufacture, degenerating into spontaneous improvisation, compatible with the essence of faith and liturgy. The greatness of the liturgy depends—we shall have to repeat this frequently—on its lack of spontaneity.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (2000)

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  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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