Views from the Choir Loft

Sensational Review Of The Jogues Illuminated Missal By Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

Jeff Ostrowski · June 19, 2014

R. PETER KWASNIEWSKI has posted a rigorous & resplendent Review of the Jogues Missal on the New Liturgical Movement (a phrase coined by Cardinal Ratzinger) :

* * NLM Review • Jogues Illuminated Missal

Here’s a sample:

HE ORDER OF MASS SECTION is the most striking feature of the Jogues Missal. I have access to a very large collection of liturgical books, and I regret to say that practically none of them manages to convey any conscious or subconscious impression that the Ordinary Form can be a beautiful thing. We have been plagued by utilitarianism and pragmatism for decades, and it often seems as if the traditional Latin Mass is the only surviving refuge for a heightened sensitivity to beauty in every last detail. What the Jogues Missal accomplishes in this regard is nothing short of astonishing. The photos call to mind the historic heritage of the Roman Rite: the glory of its musical heritage; the pregnant symbolism of the different parts and actions of the Mass, with a loving attention to details of ritual; the fittingness of suitable architecture and vesture; even the sacredness of particular words.

Read the rest HERE.

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

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

“Tonus Solemnior” • How old is it?

In the 1962 Missal, a section called “præfationes in tono solemniore” contains ornate melodies for the Preface. An article posted on the blog of the Church Music Association of America claims the tone comes from “the late 19th century” and said its elimination “is one of the very few good things which the post-Conciliar reform did for Gregorian chant.” The author said: “The Roman solemn preface tone is already beautiful enough, there was no need to give a more Romantic feel.”

Some have asked us whether the tonus solemnior comes from “the late 19th century.” It does not. Their author was wrong by at least 400 years. I have seen this tone in MSS from the 1400s—and it may go back even further. Here is an example from 1494AD. And here’s another from the 1400s. The FSSP priests use these tones on high feasts, and the effect is unforgettable.

—Jeff Ostrowski

6 January 2022 • Quick!

A short version of the INTROIT for the feast of the Epiphany has been added to the Saint René Goupil Gregorian Chant Website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Confusing Feasts of Christmas

Whether one considers the Missale Vetustum or the post-conciliar calendar—or even the 1908 calendar—the feasts which follow Christmas are very confusing. Last year I created this comparison chart. I hope you find it helpful. As far as I can tell, my chart is the first effort to carefully detail the changes made to post-Christmas feasts (unless we also count the rather basic one by Lauren Pristas).

—Jeff Ostrowski

“We must say it plainly: the Roman rite as we knew it exists no more. It has gone. Some walls of the structure have fallen, others have been altered—we can look at it as a ruin or as the partial foundation of a new building. Think back, if you remember it, to the Latin sung High Mass with Gregorian chant. Compare it with the modern post-Vatican II Mass. It is not only the words, but also the tunes and even certain actions that are different. In fact it is a different liturgy of the Mass.”

— Fr. Joseph Gelineau (1978)