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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • SAB Setting of “Jesu Rex Admirabilis”

Guest Author · September 9, 2015

316 Rick Wheeler Church O MANY OPINIONS, so many choices; how does one format a Liturgy with so much music available? Well, in Littleton, Colorado, we have a pre-set format when it comes to chant—the Liber Usualis—and the rest is determined by a simple formula. That being said, Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s website/choir page is not a blog, but a place where soon all copyright-free music scores that the church offers (and we can edit for electronic transfer) will be available for musicians to download and use. I wanted to make sure word got out, and thanks to CCW that’s going to happen.

Before I go any further, here’s a brief sample of what Sacred music is like at our Colorado parish. As a bonus, you get a wonderful Palestrina score for SOPRANO-ALTO-BARITONE that might come in handy!

    * *  Mp3 Audio • “Jesu Rex Admirabilis”

    * *  PDF Download • “Jesu Rex Admirabilis”

I’m so very appreciative of the plethora of great traditional blogs that are online now. Some are quite radical, but many are helpful and show a great spirit of unification (real charity) in the church regarding not only in the EF but also in the post-conciliar Masses. I’d like also to offer my thanks to CCW for the great articles and blogs offered there. Many churches now resound with music due to the dedication of bloggers and musicians, all helping the faithful to raise their souls to God and Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Now, what that means is being faithful to rules regarding music for the Liturgy and there is where disagreement seems to begin.

There are lots of ideas online regarding what it takes to restore sacred music and I’ve found a great deal of those opinions helpful in planning any given Sunday. Our Lady of Mount Carmel decided to go with a very simple focus. Under the patient and holy direction of Fr. James Jackson we decided that a percentage focus on Chant/Polyphony/Hymns was necessary. Since the processional and recessional was sufficient to cover the hymns portion of the liturgy, we usually leave the hymnody to that place. Our Schola Cantorum sings the Gregorian Propers every Sunday unless there are polyphonic Propers that are part of the Mass of the day. Our Parish is supported by the wonderful priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter which means we get to have the EF Mass all the time and use the Liber Usualis for our calendar. During Holy Week we have full Gregorian Tenebrae in addition to the liturgies of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday Vigil. Soon, we’ll be adding the Matins of Christmas. Recently we’ve acquired the rare and beautiful chants for that ceremony, and will soon post those for anyone to use. The treasures of the church are to be shared—we at OLMC firmly believe that—and so all our music editings are completely copyright-free, with only a Creative Commons request at the bottom. We have even had polyphony written for us in the late Renaissance style, and a CD of the live recording will be ready soon.

Here’s the choir of Our Lady of Mount Carmel singing an Ave Maria setting by Parsons:


So, chant 70% of the time, polyphony 20-25% of the time, and hymns at the ends and possibly 5% of the time during Mass. As the Second Vatican Council has asked…. chant (primacy of place) then/polyphony/hymns as commanded by Pope Pius XII and many other popes.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is located at:

5612 S. Hickory Street
Littleton, CO 80120


We hope you enjoyed this guest article by Rick Wheeler.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: January 13, 2020

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Quick Thoughts

PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

From Chelan, Washington: “CCWatershed is a God-sent resource that I can’t function without! Such great work by the team to bring beauty back to our liturgy!” From Gainesville, Florida: “I am so appreciative of the work, of my brothers and sisters in music!” From Troutman, North Carolina: “Keep up the excellent work in service of the Liturgy!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Partly on account of these alterations, and partly because I have been unable to ascertain the authorship of many compositions—which have come to me either in manuscript or through other collections—I have thought it right to publish the volume without appending the names of writers to their works. This, however, I confess to be a defect…”

— Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1863)

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