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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

Dick Morris & Gregorian Accompaniment

Jeff Ostrowski · January 19, 2015

443 Dick Morris Clinton Ear ACK IN 2009, one of the drafters of Sing to the Lord became famous—and not in a good way—for referring to Gregorian chant as a “weapon” several times. I’ve already pointed out some of the basic mistakes he made in his article, which basically served as an opportunity for him to “get back” at folks who criticized SttL. (Insiders claim that he and a CUA professor were the two primary authors of SttL.)

This drafter spends a lot of time hurling words like “misguided” and “misinformed” at folks who have a different opinion. 1 He also says:

…to be honest, most of the U.S. Catholic Church does not sing much Latin chant. […] Some—or, perhaps, many—Catholics do not like Gregorian chant much. They find it to be in the wrong language, or too difficult, or irrelevant, or just plain boring.

A rather interesting statement … made in the context of an article supposedly discussing liturgical law. A theory exists regarding Church music legislation that I call “The Dick Morris Approach.” According to this theory, legislation should basically reflect whatever people are currently doing. However, thoughtful people have pointed out that creating legislation would be an exercise in futility under such a system, since the Church could simply hire a pollster like Dick Morris to discover “what the parishes are doing.”

[For those unaware, the presidency of Bill Clinton started off in trouble because so many of his ideological aides lacked any Washington experience. Clinton then secretly hired a pollster—Dick Morris—and referred to him as “Charlie” to mask his identity. Clinton made each decision according to the result polls by Morris.]

I HAVE NEVER SUBSCRIBED to the notion that “this is the way it is; therefore it will always be like this.” Some people accept a job as choir director and say, “I have five singers who don’t read music, so I guess that’s how it will always be.” I believe that things can change and progress can be made. Moreover, the purpose of legislation was never considered to be a “snapshot” of what parishes are doing; it was supposed to lead folks to a higher good.

I do have a question, however.

Since 2007, people all over the world have sent me recordings of parishes singing the Chabanel psalms. Believe it or not, the Chabanel psalms have been sung in St. Peter’s Basilica. I have a recording of this, and it’s charming to hear the Italians belt out the refrain—boy, do those Italians love to sing! The problem is, the refrains are invariably sung too slowly. To combat this, we provided video recordings demonstrating the correct tempo … but our efforts seem to have been in vain.

In the nineteenth century, chant accompaniments by Jacques Lemmens—which placed one chord for each note—were widely imitated. Today, we usually mock such accompaniments as being “slow and plodding.” The post-Lemmens belief, which I’ve agreed with for decades, is that having two or three notes per chord will help keep things moving. Consider a “plodding” excerpt from Lemmen’s Lauda Sion :

444 Lemmens


Is it possible Lemmens was onto something? After all, in spite of all the videos we’ve produced, it seems many still sing the refrains too slowly. Could it be that note-by-note is the only way to properly accompany congregational chant? Did Lemmens realize that people are going to do what they’re going to do?



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Naturally, he cannot resist bringing up his hobbyhorse: the history of vernacular hymnody at Mass. As usual, he misrepresents the indults granted to some countries. Indeed, he seems to misunderstand the very meaning of the word “indult.”

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 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

    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —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 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

[Speaking of those who wish to eliminate Latin from the liturgy.] “One may well wonder what the origin is of this new way of thinking and this sudden dislike for the past; one may well wonder why these things have been fostered.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (15 August 1966)

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