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Views from the Choir Loft

The Week In Review

Jeff Ostrowski · October 10, 2015

Here are some random thoughts. Take them or leave them!

(1)

Gregory DiPippo wrote a fascinating article on NLM you will want to read. I don’t want to tell you what it’s about—but believe me, you will love it! Now, here’s a fun fact: the Jogues Missal actually contains a “bilingual” manuscript (Greek + Latin) which you can better understand by reading an article I posted a while back.

(2)

As a choirmaster, in some ways it doesn’t matter what you know about music, because the main thing is dealing with people. We must cultivate relationships with our singers, who are people. Choirmasters do not have a choice in this matter. We do not conduct a group of singers; we conduct a whole bunch of individual people who (in my view) must become friends.

(3)

What would our readers think about a “Letters to the Editor” section on our CCW blog? I think that might be kind of fun, if there was enough interest…

(4)

As a blog author, one eventually realizes “less is more.” Good authors must be succinct. They must avoid repeating themselves over and over. I feel this has a bearing on the question of GRADUAL vs. RESPONSORIAL PSALM. The Gradual had a way of picking out just 1-2 really special verses (easily grasped by the human mind). The Responsorial Psalm has more verses, but somehow can leave less of an impression upon the mind.

(5)

Internet users have become more mature. Have you noticed how few blogs comments are made these days as opposed to ten years ago? These days, folks navigate to the websites they desire, blocking out the rest. Folks no longer have the time & energy required for endless flame wars. I’d like to explore this subject more at some point…

(6)

My friend wrote me an email, letting me know Kirsten Powers has become Catholic! I wrote about Kirsten Powers here. (I think that’s why my friend sent me that message.)

(7)

Here at CCW, we strive for authenticity. So many blogs out there talk down to their audiences, or try to get people riled up. One thing I hate is when blog authors frame an issue, and then—just like the 30-minute sitcoms in the ’90s—“resolve” the issue at the end of the article. In reality, most issues are complex and cannot be resolved in a 1-paragraph summary. Such an approach may be considered “proper writing” but in the end is not applicable to the real world.

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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Jeff Ostrowski

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“It introduces us to a still and serious world, deserted and rigid, without colour, without light, without motion; it does not gladden, does not distract; yet we cannot break away from it.”

— ‘Schweitzer on the THEME from Bach’s “Art of Fugue”’

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