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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

A Fond Farewell

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · December 18, 2014

0319_kwasni-102-MED BLESSED CHRISTMAS to each and every one of you! It is hard to believe how time flies (cliché alert). My first blog entry at Views from the Choir Loft was posted a little over two years ago, on December 22, 2012. Since that time, I have contributed 100 Thursday columns. It has been tremendous fun and a lot of work, as we have explored all kinds of liturgical topics, reform and renewal, Vatican II, tradition, liberalism, music and fine art, culture and inculturation, silence, spiritual classics, social teaching, and more.

Due to some developments in my career—principally my role on a team of scholars undertaking a massive Aquinas translation funded by the NEH, and my upcoming sabbatical work on academic projects—I have had to make the difficult decision to step down from the band of regular contributors to Views from the Choir Loft. I have enjoyed contributing to the amazing “sacred music empire” that is Corpus Christi Watershed. I am particularly grateful to my fellow bloggers for their excellent posts, which gave me lots of good advice, ideas, and resources, and I am no less grateful to you, dear readers from across the world, for your steady support, encouragement, and enthusiasm for all things Catholic.

I have always been and continue to be an ardent supporter of Corpus Christi Watershed, which will remain the permanent host site for my Sacred Choral Works. I will continue as a staff writer at New Liturgical Movement as well as an anonymous blog, although my contributions may thin out as the grant and sabbatical projects loom larger.

Friends, musicians, countrymen, Catholics—thank you and please say a prayer for me. May our Lord Jesus Christ, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, pour out His mercies upon you.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: April 25, 2020

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About Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“I vividly remember going to church with him in Bournemouth. He was a devout Roman Catholic and it was soon after the Church had changed the liturgy (from Latin to English). My grandfather obviously didn’t agree with this and made all the responses very loudly in Latin while the rest of the congregation answered in English. I found the whole experience quite excruciating, but my grandfather was oblivious. He simply had to do what he believed to be right.”

— Simon Tolkien (2003)

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