Views from the Choir Loft

Popular Posts From 2015

Cynthia Ostrowski · December 29, 2015

Below are some popular articles from 2015. Unfortunately, the list is not exhaustive, because Facebook makes such lists difficult to assemble. If you didn’t read them, you might want to check them out. Here they are in no particular order:

RICHARD CLARK:

Carpeting Is the Enemy of Congregational Singing

Five Things Directors and Choirs Must Remember This Week

ANDREW MOTYKA:

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press)

FR. DAVID FRIEL:

Pastoral Difficulties with Recently Ordained Priests

The Future of the Pipe Organ

Bishop Conley & Advent “Ad Orientem”

DR. LUCAS TAPPAN:

One Sure Way To Destroy Your Child’s Musical Potential

Where Have All The Organists Gone?

JEFF OSTROWSKI:

Cardinal Sarah’s Powerful Letter Available In English!

Six Things To Know About USCCB Hymn Approval

PDF Download • Extremely Rare Hymnal (1952)

Top Six Liturgical Quotes By Robert Cardinal Sarah

Short, Fresh, & Beautiful • SATB “Ave Maris Stella”

CHRISTOPHER MUELLER:

A Striking Approach To Performing Gregorian Chant

ANDREW LEUNG:

Papal Master of Ceremonies on receiving Communion

Understanding the Sacred

DR. ALFRED CALABRESE:

An Antidote For Clericalism: Sung Vespers

VERONICA BRANDT:

Easy Organ Hymns for Catholics

How to do Marian Hymns

GUEST AUTHOR:

“No Approval Needed for Substitute Songs” says USCCB

“Saving” Gregorian Chant In The Ordinary Form

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

About Cynthia Ostrowski

Cynthia Ostrowski holds a bachelor's degree (2005) in Geographic Information Science and a minor in Computer Science from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.—(Read full biography).

19 January 2021 • Confusion over feasts

For several months, we have discussed the complicated history of the various Christmas feasts: the Baptism of the Lord, the feast of the Holy Family, the Epiphany, and so forth. During a discussion, someone questioned my assertion that in some places Christmas had been part of the Epiphany. As time went on, of course, the Epiphany came to represent only three “manifestations” (Magi, Cana, Baptism), but this is not something rigid. For example, if you look at this “Capital E” from the feast of the Epiphany circa 1350AD, you can see it portrays not three mysteries but four—including PHAGIPHANIA when Our Lord fed the 5,000. In any event, anyone who wants proof the Epiphany used to include Christmas can read this passage from Dom Prosper Guéranger.

—Jeff Ostrowski

6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski

2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski