Views from the Choir Loft

The Most Important Thing A Choirmaster Can Do

Jeff Ostrowski · December 1, 2015

HE LIFE OF A CHOIRMASTER is wonderful but can also be very difficult. One of these days, I’d like to write about how certain challenges can be overcome, but this task must be approached with care because it’s enormous.

For years, I hated the ANDY GRIFFITH show. It seemed so corny and predictable, especially Barney Fife. Then, somebody explained to me that Barney Fife represents ALL OF US when we take ourselves too seriously. From that moment forward, I loved the show!

Here’s a funny clip:

You have to let the show be funny. If you approach it with the wrong attitude, you’ll hate it. Music can be like that, too. If you open the ANTIPHONALE trying to hate it, you’ll hate it. But if you start singing the melodies with the correct attitude, you’ll begin to see how wonderful they are. (By the way, you don’t have to instantly love every single Gregorian chant.) Sometimes it takes decades to appreciate the genius of this or that Gregorian chant.

The Andy Griffith show can help us remember not to take ourselves too seriously. It can also be a way to relax, which can help you maintain a calm, happy, professional demeanor.

And maintaining a calm, happy, professional demeanor is probably the most important thing a choirmaster can do.

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

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).

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