Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download: “Laudate Hymnal” (1942) … An Exceptionally Rare Book!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 21, 2015

E HAVE BEEN posting a lot of rare hymnals lately, in preparation for the Brébeuf Hymnal. This one, however—the famous Laudate Hymnal—is a real find, for both the Ordinary & Extraordinary Forms.

We give the 1950 edition, because (in that edition) they added the names of the authors and composers. Believe it or not, it was never the custom for early Catholic hymnals to include items we now consider absolutely essential, such as the tune names & meters. I’m told the Mediator Dei Hymnal was among the first to remedy this unbelievable situation.

This 274-page file is very large:

* * PDF • Laudate Hymnal & Choir Book (1942)

Dr. Horst Buchholz, Vice-President of the Church Music Association of America, recently made this comment on the CCW Facebook page:

Another vernacular hymnal in my humble collection is the beautiful “Laudate” Hymnal from 1942, which was commissioned by Bishop Paul Schulte for the Diocese of Leavenworth, KS [now the Archdiocese of Kansas City, KS]. The hymnal replaced an older (vernacular) hymnbook by Fr. Hohe, and the musical settings are by Fr. Herman Koch, and Fr. Andrew Green, OSB. Definitely worth a look!

You’ll see Dr. Buchholz was 100% correct when you read the Foreword.

We’ve also made available the Complete Proper Of The Mass, With Organ Accompaniment—published by the same authors in 1946.

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

PDF Download • “Organ Accompaniment”

Over the past few years, I’ve been harmonizing all the vernacular plainsong Introit settings by the CHAUMONOT COMPOSERS GROUP. This coming Sunday—10 May 2026—is the 6th Sunday of Easter (Year A). The following declaration will probably smack of “blowing my own horn.” However, I’d rank this accompaniment as my best yet. In this rehearsal video, I attempt to sing it while simultaneously accompanying myself on the pipe organ. The musical score [for singers] as well as my organ accompaniment can be downloaded free of charge from the flourishing feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 4 May 2026

A few days ago, the CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED Facebook page posted this Gregorian Chant quiz regarding a rubric for the SEQUENCE for the feast of Corpus Christi: “Lauda Sion Salvatórem.” There is no audience more intelligent than ours—yet surprisingly nobody has been able to guess the rubric. Drop me an email with the right answer, and I’ll affirm your brilliance to everyone I encounter!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Rare Photographs” • Hannibal Bugnini

On 2 September 2025, we included in this article extremely rare photographs of Archbishop Hannibal Bugnini taken in Iran circa 1979. Bugnini had initially been banished by the pope to Uruguay, but he refused to obey. [This is interesting, since Bugnini relied upon ‘blind obedience’ when it came to modifications of the ancient liturgy.] After he refused to obey the order from the pope, Hannibal Bugnini was banished to Iran. You can also watch a short video of Hannibal Bugnini in Iran, dated 10 November 1979. That’s about a week after the USA embassy hostage crisis began in Tehran, and Pope Saint John Paul II had sent the leader of the Iranian Revolution a special letter.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Anima Christi”

I received a request for an organ accompaniment I created way back in 2007 for the “Anima Christi” Gregorian Chant. You can download this PDF file which has the score in plainsong followed by a keyboard accompaniment. Many melodies have been paired with “Anima Christi” over the centuries, but this is—perhaps—the most common one.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Liturgical Law” (467 Pages)

On Good Friday during the middle ages, the pope privately recited THE ENTIRE PSALTER. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself by reading this passage by Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen (d. 1943). His famous book—called “Liturgical Law: A Handbook Of The Roman Liturgy”—was published by the Benjamin Herder Book Company, which was the American arm (operating out of St. Louis, Missouri) of one of the world’s most significant Catholic publishers. Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen was born in Switzerland but spent his career between the Benedictine monasteries at Conception (Missouri) and Mount Angel (Oregon). His 1931 masterpiece, Liturgical Law can be downloaded as a PDF file … 467 pages!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!

—Jeff Ostrowski