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Corpus Christi Watershed

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

Coming Full Circle in the Circle City

Andrew R. Motyka · July 3, 2013

his whole blogging thing can be a difficult thing to manage on a schedule (not to mention my children’s supernatural sense that something productive is happening in this room right now). “Come up with something good to talk about, right now” is not one of my talents. Talking? I’m a master (just ask my wife). Having something substantive to say, not so much. Therefore, I was grateful when Jeff Ostrowski gave me a great idea for this week: the CMAA Colloquium, specifically next year’s installment. Allow me to express my excitement.

My first experience with the Church Music Association of America came when I attended the Colloquium in 2010 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I was living about a half hour away and it was an easy commute. As most people who have attended will tell you, it is nothing less than sublime, musically. You spend all week mingling and learning, but mostly singing. When is the last time you got to do so much singing? My interest in Gregorian chant and the restoration of the sacred in liturgical music was already in full swing, but the Colloquium was positively energizing, and fed me with information and the knowledge that there were like-minded people out there. Also, I met a guy named Jeff Ostrowski. I was able to attend again in 2011 (mainly because of some generosity from CMAA for which I am grateful), furthering my appreciation for the organization and this beautiful annual event.

I was unable to attend the Colloquium for the following two year in Salt Lake City, both because of distance and due to circumstances evolving in my professional life. When I began at my current position as the Archdiocesan Director of Music in Indianapolis, I thought, “At some point, I’m going to try to get CMAA to bring the Colloquium here.”

Well the Lord works in mysterious and frequently hilariously in-your-face ways. Since I was settled, I contacted CMAA to ask if there was anything I could help with, despite not being able to attend the Colloquium this year, and I was greeted with, “So how do you think Indianapolis would be for hosting a Colloquium?” In a veritable hurricane of productivity, Arlene Oost-Zinner made it happen. The 2014 CMAA Colloquium will be in Indianapolis.

The Downtown Sheraton will be the site of the rehearsals and breakouts, which is right on center circle from which the city gets its nickname. Only a few blocks away, we will celebrate at the historic Saint John the Evangelist Church, a beautiful place to worship. St. John is currently undergoing a thorough renovation due to a fire this past Lent, and will be in its best condition in years by the time of next year’s musical get-together.

The 2014 CMAA Colloquium promises once again to be a “slice of musical heaven,” as it has been called before. I hope to see many of you there.

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 Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
    Various shell corporations (in an effort to make money selling Sacred Scripture) have tinkered with the LECTIONARY texts in a way that’s shameful. It’s no wonder Catholics in the pews know so few Bible passages by heart. Without authorization, these shell corporations pervert the official texts. Consider the Responsorial Psalm for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year A). If you download this PDF comparison chart you’ll notice each country randomly omits certain sections. Such tinkering has gone on for 60+ years—and it’s reprehensible.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Monsignor Klaus Gamber Speaks!
    An interesting quotation from the eminent liturgist, Monsignor Klaus Gamber (d. 1989): “According to canon law, a person’s affiliation with a particular liturgical rite is determined by that person’s rite of baptism. Given that the liturgical reforms of Pope Paul VI created a de facto new rite, one could assert that those among the faithful who were baptized according to the traditional Roman rite have the right to continue following that rite; just as priests who were ordained according to the traditional Ordo have the right to exercise the very rite that they were ordained to celebrate.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The Night Office—Nocturns or Matins—except for Holy Week, Easter Octave, and Christmas, has never appeared in the Vatican edition. The larger part of the mediaeval repertory for the Office thus remains still unpublished in the Vatican edition, and is likely to remain so, for the obvious reason that almost no cathedral chapters or monastic choirs sing the Night Office regularly today.”

— John Merle Boe (1968)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Marian Antiphon Booklet” (4 pages) + Five Rhythmic Considerations
  • False Accusations
  • (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
  • PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
  • “Can Choral Music Survive?” • 3 Reasons It Will

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