Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for February 2014

Veronica Brandt · February 8, 2014

Browsing Illuminated Manuscripts in Switzerland

Thank you internet! Browsing Swiss libraries of medieval manuscripts from home. Life doesn’t get much better than this.

Guest Author · February 7, 2014

On Singing the Passion Gospel for Palm Sunday

This Lent, consider singing the most important Gospel reading of the year. “Free PDF Download Included!”

Richard J. Clark · February 7, 2014

Disparagement Is Not Helping the Cause of Liturgical Reform

Disparagement is not catechesis. It is destructive. If we are to catechize and evangelize, we must put God first, not our own preferences. Meanwhile, we must catechize and strive for the ideal.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · February 6, 2014

Poverty, Self-Denial, and Peace – Part II

How do we learn the art of self-denial? In small steps that prepare us for the ultimate step: surrendering our soul to the Lord at death.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 5, 2014

1965 Ordo Missae … In Spanish!

Kyle, one of our readers, sent us this fascinating liturgical artifact.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 5, 2014

Whence Came The New Eucharistic Prayers?

When the three new Canons were published, the Consilium sent the conferences a letter (dated 2 June 1968) “to assist catechesis on the anaphoras of the Mass.”

Jeff Ostrowski · February 4, 2014

Mp3 Audio: “Why Do I Use My Paper, Ink, And Pen”

The fact that this recording was created by one person will astound you. The fact that it’s offered to you free of charge is even better!

Cynthia Ostrowski · February 4, 2014

Catholic Line Art, Black and White • Installment #50

I will be releasing hundreds of these B/W religious line art drawings for free and instant download. These beautiful Catholic “woodcuts” were done with magnificent skill. “Download Free Traditional Catholic Clipart”

Gwyneth Holston · February 3, 2014

The Heresy of Formlessness

How have I not read Martin Mosebach’s book before now?

Jeff Ostrowski · February 3, 2014

“Polls Ye Shall Always Have With You”

When was the last time you saw the music of today’s popular Catholic composers treated in a serious way?

Fr. David Friel · February 2, 2014

Youth in Favor of Sacred Music

Not a Negligible Niche

Music Director Job • $80,000 per year

Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

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

“From six in the evening, his martyrdom had continued through the ghastly night until nine o’clock in the morning. After fifteen hours of torture rarely if ever surpassed in the bloody annals of the Iroquois, the soul of Gabriel Lalemant was freed from its charred and mutilated prison and summoned to join his comrade Jean de Brébeuf in the radiant splendor of God. March 17th, 1649, was the date; for Brébeuf it had been the sixteenth.”

— ‘Fr. John A. O’Brien, speaking of St. Gabriel Lalemant’