Views from the Choir Loft

Cardinal Burke will be in Steubenville!

Andrew Leung · September 3, 2015

WILL BE heading to Steubenville this Sunday after our 11am High Mass at my parish. Good news for those who live tri-state (Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania) area around Steubenville. Raymond Cardinal Burke will be visiting the Franciscan University of Steubenville on Tuesday, September 8. The main reason of his visitation is to deliver a keynote and participate in a panel discussion on “the Synod on the Family”. The last time the cardinal visited the university was in 2011, he was the celebrant for the Baccalaureate Mass where he received an honorary doctorate degree.

His Eminence will be celebrating a Solemn Pontifical High Mass at the historical St. Peter Church in downtown Steubenville. Priests from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest will be assisting. The surprising thing is that this Mass, according to the 1962 Missale Romanum, is part of the official event of the university. As an alumni, I am very proud to see my alma mater participating in the Liturgical Movement and embracing the Ancient Form of the Mass. The Mass begins at 10:30 on Tuesday morning and a large crowd is expected. The university choir, the Schola Cantorum Franciscana, will be singing under the direction of Nicholas Will, Assistant Professor of Sacred Music. The choir will be singing all the Gregorian Propers, Messe Solennelle by Vierne and other motets.

Another visiting guest is Dr. Peter Kwasniewski from Wyoming Catholic College. Dr. Kwasniewski will be one of the panelists for the evening panel discussion and he will also be giving a lecture on “The Old Mass and the New Evangelization” on Monday night. The talk will be held in the Gentile Gallery at 8:00pm.

The keynote and panel discussion will be held in the Finnegan Fieldhouse from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Due to the large crowd, the Tuesday events, including the Mass, require confirmation through getting free tickets online. More details including the schedule, ticketing and the list of panelists can be found on the university webpage.

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

About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published

Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.

—Jeff Ostrowski

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

“However well equipped and trained a choir may be, all its good points may be obscured by an unsuitable accompaniment. In fact the organist can, in a large measure, either make or mar his choir. It must be owned, however, that the accompanist of Plainsong has to contend with many difficulties. […] The purist will still find his best enjoyment of the chant when it is sung unaccompanied, but to most a becoming accompaniment gives an added charm.”

— Benedictines of Stanbrook (1905)