Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for October 2015

Christopher Mueller · October 12, 2015

Rediscovering “Musicam Sacram”

I encountered anew this wonderfully clear and concise document about music in the liturgy.

Jeff Ostrowski · October 11, 2015

Kyrie XI • Gregorian Chant

I’ve wrongly neglected this famous chant.

Fr. David Friel · October 11, 2015

World Meeting of Families 2015 & the Papal Visit to Philadelphia — Part 1 of 2

A Behind-the-Scenes Look

Jeff Ostrowski · October 10, 2015

Musical Resources • 20th Sunday after Pentecost (Extraordinary Form)

“May these mysteries, we beseech thee, O Lord, bring us from heaven a healing medicine…”

Corpus Christi Watershed · October 10, 2015

VIDEO • Fr. Kevin Vogel On Gregorian Chant

This video will interest lovers of sacred music.

Veronica Brandt · October 10, 2015

New CD by the Sistine Chapel Choir

Watch for more about the first ever commercial recording from the Sistine Chapel.

Jeff Ostrowski · October 10, 2015

The Week In Review

Seven random thoughts…

Richard J. Clark · October 9, 2015

Digital vs. Pipe Organ • Who Wins?

The debate between digital and pipe organs as been intensified by a collaboration between Sony’s GRAMMY®-nominated artist, Cameron Carpenter and organ builders Marshall & Ogletree. Is it a revolution?

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · October 8, 2015

Family and Work: both are full time jobs

My children are now grown, but I’m not about to reveal any family secrets!

Jeff Ostrowski · October 7, 2015

Sloppy 1953 Schwann

The “white notes” (as Dr. Joseph Lennards called them) are quite sloppy, which really took me by surprise.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · October 6, 2015

The Power of Good Music

Please, please don’t ever underestimate the power of good music to touch hearts in either the work of evangelization or catechesis.

Aurelio Porfiri · October 5, 2015

Something Unexpected

Music is not and cannot be neutral.

Jeff Ostrowski · October 3, 2015

Worst Song Ever?

What Church musicians can learn from “Friday” by Rebecca Black.

Jeff Ostrowski · October 3, 2015

Loading Choir Binders For Sunday (4 October)

The life of a choirmaster is a life of sacrifice…

Richard J. Clark · October 2, 2015

Believe. Connect. Disappear.

The older I get, I prepare more not to receive accolades, but to become invisible.

“Music List” • 6th Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 6th Sunday of Easter (25 May 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are provided at the the feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gloria in Spanish” • Free Accompaniment

Several people have requested an organ accompaniment for the GLORY TO GOD which prints the Spanish words directly above the chords. The Spanish adaptation—Gloria a Dios en el cielo—as printed in Roman Misal, tercera edición was adapted from the “Glória in excélsis” from Mass XV (DOMINATOR DEUS). I used to feel that it’s a pretty boring chant … until I heard it sung well by a men’s Schola Cantorum, which changed my view dramatically. This morning, I created this harmonization and dedicated it to my colleague, Corrinne May. You may download it for free. Please let me know if you enjoy it!

—Jeff Ostrowski

How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?

This year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June 2025) will fall on a Sunday. It’s not necessary to be an eminent Latin scholar to be horrified by examples like this, which have been in place since 1970. For the last 55 years, anyone who’s attempted to correct such errors has been threatened with legal action. It is simply unbelievable that the (mandatory) texts of the Holy Mass began being sold for a profit in the 1970s. How much longer will this gruesome situation last?

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962

There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop

—Veronica Brandt

The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum

Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.

—Daniel Tucker

The literal translation: “Lord, have mercy—Christ, have mercy,” does not offer much material for an acceptable song text. The words, not having any feminine syllables, are abrupt; the sounds are almost all muted and colorless; the rhythmic flow is too brief. So many people may prefer responses that further extend the song of the assembly, e.g., “Have pity on us, Lord” or “Pardon us and change our hearts.

— J. Gelineau attacking the KYRIE ELEYSON (page 64 in “Learning to Celebrate,” 1985)