Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for May 2013

Richard J. Clark · May 3, 2013

Adversity Builds Strength

Church musicians carry “battle scars” of the profession. We can all tell “war stories.” But Thomas à Kempis writes in “The Imitation of Christ,” “…the measure of every man’s virtue is best revealed in time of adversity—adversity that does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is.”

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Corpus Christi Watershed · May 3, 2013

02 • Lalemant Interviews: Dr. Jeremy Sienkiewicz

Does the Church really allow the Gospel to be replaced by excerpts from Machiavelli’s THE PRINCE? Seriously? Dr. Jeremy Sienkiewicz of Benedictine College chats about numerous topics, including the Mass Propers.

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Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · May 2, 2013

Music of High Artistic Value

The papal teaching addresses precisely the question of criteria; it does not attempt to teach people how to listen to music or how to discriminate different qualities of music. If such discriminatory abilities are lacking, the papal teaching can have no meaning for us.

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Jeff Ostrowski · May 2, 2013

CMAA President Has His Own “STAR” In Hollywood

Did you know a former president of the Church Music Association of America has his own STAR on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? That’s correct! Just like Michael Jackson, Rex Harrison, Alfred Hitchcock, Harrison Ford, and all the rest.

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Corpus Christi Watershed · May 2, 2013

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Welcomed By Pope Francis

“The emeritus pope, who made the unprecedented decision to step down from his role in February, will now live in a converted monastery near current Pope Francis.” — New York Daily News

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Andrew R. Motyka · May 1, 2013

Live for the Moment

The temporal reality of the liturgy that cannot be bound by recordings.

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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

“Reminder” — Month of July (2026)

On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). Since we were founded in 2006, not one of our board members has ever accepted any remuneration whatsoever—not a penny. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. It couldn’t be easier to subscribe! Just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.

—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