Views from the Choir Loft

News About The Papal Election

Jeff Ostrowski · March 12, 2013 ·

EADERS may have noticed that the Papal Resignation and Election has not been covered very much on “Views from the Choir Loft.” There is a perfectly good reason for this: we do not want to add to all the confusion that already exists! In other words, in the various news media outlets and internet blogs, there has been much information disseminated . . . but most of it is nonsense. How do I know it’s nonsense? Simply because I have a friend who worked at the highest levels of the Vatican for many years, and this friend has specifically told me as much.

It must be remembered we live in an age where false information can be “dressed up” and disseminated via the internet with the click of a button. That is one reason I do not encourage folks to spend long periods of time on the computer. It might be well to remind everyone: “Just because you saw it on a blog, that doesn’t make it true.”

Nevertheless, I wish to say that everyone involved with Corpus Christi Watershed realizes how important this Conclave is. Let us renew in our hearts a commitment to continue to pray and offer sacrifices for the election of the Holy Father. Again, I wish to say that this is very much on our minds, in spite of the fact that we choose not to spread false rumors about “inside information.”

Finally, for myself, I wish to say one more time that it is hard for me to imagine a more saintly, intelligent, brave Pope than Benedict XVI.

About Jeff Ostrowski

A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004), and did graduate work in Musicology. He serves as choirmaster for the new FSSP parish in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife and children.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski