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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

“Look Beyond The Bread You Eat” (Part 2)

Jeff Ostrowski · November 18, 2013

IFE AS A PARENT is a constant struggle. The children have endless energy … and you have none. It’s hard to find even a few minutes which can be spent peacefully listening to music. However, a few days ago I listened to part of a Mass by Cristóbal de Morales (sung by Chanticleer). It was so incredibly beautiful. More on this below.

I mentioned in Part 1 that certain things seem obvious to me, yet others have a totally different view. Let me give just one more example:

Years ago, upon being criticized for a lack of variety of Communion selections, I admitted to my priest-employer that I was struggling to find decent Communion hymns. His response was, “Well, obviously you don’t have a clue. Come over here, and in five seconds I can do a better job than you could dream of doing.” His rude manner of speaking did not bother me, because he spoke to everybody that same way. For the record, I ended up quitting a few months later, because this same priest began to weep — literally sob! — when I refused to allow a local jazz combo to play for the Holy Saturday Vigil.

Anyhow, this priest looked through our OCP hymn book, searching for what he called “reverent, orthodox hymns.” He searched and searched. Finally, he pointed to a song called, “Look beyond the bread you eat.” I was flabbergasted. It dawned on me that nothing I’d been saying to him had made the slightest impact. All these months, I had literally been wasting my breath. It was a revelation. Sometimes people are on a completely different wavelength.

Getting back to the Morales I mentioned earlier, his settings of the Mass — Credo, Sanctus, etc. — were so gorgeous … but why? I believe one reason was to transport us to a different world.

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like when the galaxy was created? Were you present when God created the birds? Were you there when grass and oceans were being created? What was it like to see whales and deer and rainbows and clouds come into existence? I don’t know … I wasn’t there. But this Morales music is transcendent, and (in my view) opens the mind to contemplate life in a different way. All of a sudden, humans (upon hearing such music) are invited to contemplate things Divine, whereas too many of us tend to waste our time and thoughts. Morales pulls us out of “reality” into a higher reality. How remarkable that someone back then could write such sophisticated and beautiful music, when modern culture insists that people today are so much smarter than former ages, and we no longer require “myths” like the God of the Bible. By the way, which of us routinely contemplates death? Modern culture wants us to think about anything BUT death. To make a long short, how different is the liturgical music of Morales from a song like Look Beyond The Bread You Eat !!

I DON’T WANT TO SHOCK anybody, but the Catholic Church has millions and millions of dollars. (This is still true, although it’s hard to believe when we hear about horrible scandals, like Roger Cardinal Mahoney paying close to a billion dollars from church funds because he covered up sexual abuse of minors.) So, why is our Catholic liturgical music so terrible in 99% of parishes? I’m starting to think it has to do with what I said earlier: we’re talking past one another. We’re not on the same page.

Therefore, I’ve decided to work on a set of “proposals” for Church musicians. These are basic, fundamental facts that both Pastor and Musician must understand. I’ve wanted to do this for years. I hope you’ll give your input, as time goes on, and we can together formulate a clear, guaranteed “formula for success.”

This article is part of a series:

Part 1   •   Part 2

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Contract Between Priest And Musician 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

The local church should be conscious that church worship is not really the same as what we sing in a bar, or what we sing in a convention for youth.

— Francis Cardinal Arinze (2005)

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