Views from the Choir Loft

What Happened To Our Catholic Artists?

Jeff Ostrowski · March 31, 2015 ·

HEN I CONSIDER Catholic artwork from the Middle Ages—like this fantastic page from Trinity Sunday—I can’t help but wonder where our Catholic artists have gone. When I observe altars like this, I question why we cannot create more beautiful altars.

Allow me to introduce Christine O’Brien, who attends a very special Catholic Church along with her husband, Tim, and their four children. Christine is a graphic artist who provides custom clipart for teachers. (School teachers are always in need of fine clipart.)

I was born in the 1980s, but from what I can tell, the trend for ugly artwork—or artwork avoiding reference to Christ, saints, and so on—started with stuff like this in WLP’s Peoples Hymnal. Then “progressive” organizations continued this trend; for instance, here’s a bizarre image from the 1990 Collegeville hymnal. Such pictures stand in stark contrast to, for example, artwork like this, in the Campion Hymnal.

When I asked Christine if she could create liturgical artwork, she sent me this:

078 Catholic Vestments Solemn Mass

If your church needs custom Catholic clipart, why not send Christine an Email? Although she’s a busy mother, she might be able to fulfill your needs. ¹ Let’s start the process of restoring beauty and dignity to our churches!

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 As you can see by viewing her store, her prices are quite reasonable.

About Jeff Ostrowski

A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004), and did graduate work in Musicology. He serves as choirmaster for the new FSSP parish in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife and children.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski