Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for December 2015

Jeff Ostrowski · December 7, 2015

Rehearsal Videos • “O Magnum Mysterium” (Victoria)

With a masterpiece like this, we must be careful not to rush in where angels fear to tread.

Fr. David Friel · December 6, 2015

Not One of Aesop’s Fables

Of Tetrarchs, High Priests, and the Polar Express

Jeff Ostrowski · December 5, 2015

Musical Resources • Second Sunday of Advent (Extraordinary Form)

“Gather ye together His Saints to Him; who have set His covenant before sacrifices…”

Corpus Christi Watershed · December 5, 2015

Saint Nicholas — “Identity Theft”

Since we are getting closer to Christmas …

Veronica Brandt · December 5, 2015

Have you heard of St Clelia?

A young foundress who continues to sing with her congregations around the world and how this underlines the power of the liturgy.

Richard J. Clark · December 4, 2015

A Midlife Crisis and My Funeral

At my funeral, please pray for my soul. Please don’t “celebrate my life” (do that after…) or “celebrate my resurrection.” Pray.

Andrew Leung · December 3, 2015

CMAA Winter Sacred Music Workshop

Registration is now open for the CMAA Winter Sacred Music Workshop in Houston

Andrew Leung · December 3, 2015

Video • The Voice of St. John Paul the Great

Two videos of John Paul II’s singing

Veronica Moreno · December 2, 2015

On Stillness

This blog post is about a four-year-old who behaves at Mass and how the Extraordinary Form allows a father to learn to behave better at Mass.

Jeff Ostrowski · December 2, 2015

Introit For The Immaculate Conception (8 December)

“Gaudens Gaudebo” is not a short Introit.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · December 2, 2015

Sir Colin Mawby Composes Special “Ave Maria” For Kansas Choristers

Mr. Mawby emailed me two weeks after sending the music, saying he’d already purchased his plane ticket and would see us in Rome!

Jeff Ostrowski · December 1, 2015

The Most Important Thing A Choirmaster Can Do

Sometimes it takes decades to appreciate the genius of this or that Gregorian chant.

‘Bogey’ of the Half-Educated: Paraphrase

Father Adrian Porter, using the cracher dans la soupe example, did a praiseworthy job explaining the difference between ‘dynamic’ and ‘formal’ translation. This is something Monsignor Ronald Knox explained time and again—yet even now certain parties feign ignorance. I suppose there will always be people who pretend the only ‘valid’ translation of Mitigásti omnem iram tuam; avertísti ab ira indignatiónis tuæ… would be “You mitigated all ire of you; you have averted from your indignation’s ire.” Those who would defend such a translation suffer from an unfortunate malady. One of my professors called it “cognate on the brain.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Father Cuthbert Lattey • “The Hebrew MSS”

Father Cuthbert Lattey (d. 1954) wrote: “In a large number of cases the ancient Christian versions and some other ancient sources seem to have been based upon a better Hebrew text than that adopted by the rabbis for official use and alone suffered to survive. Sometimes, too, the cognate languages suggest a suitable meaning for which there is little or no support in the comparatively small amount of ancient Hebrew that has survived. The evidence of the metre is also at times so clear as of itself to furnish a strong argument; often it is confirmed by some other considerations. […] The Jewish copyists and their directors, however, seem to have lost the tradition of the metre at an early date, and the meticulous care of the rabbis in preserving their own official and traditional text (the ‘massoretic’ text) came too late, when the mischief had already been done.” • Msgr. Knox adds: “It seems the safest principle to follow the Latin—after all, St. Jerome will sometimes have had a better text than the Massoretes—except on the rare occasions when there is no sense to be extracted from the Vulgate at all.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • 9 Nov. (Dedic. Lateran)

Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 9 November 2025, which is the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the sensational feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reminder” — Month of November (2025)

On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Gospel Options for 2 November (“All Souls”)

We’ve been told some bishops are suppressing the TLM because of “unity.” But is unity truly found in the MISSALE RECENS? For instance, on All Souls (2 November), any of these Gospel readings may be chosen, for any reason (or for no reason at all). The same is true of the Propria Missæ and other readings—there are countless options in the ORDINARY FORM. In other words, no matter which OF parish you attend on 2 November, you’ll almost certainly hear different propers and readings, to say nothing of different ‘styles’ of music. Where is the “unity” in all this? Indeed, the Second Vatican Council solemnly declared: “Even in the liturgy, the Church has no wish to impose a rigid uniformity in matters which do not implicate the faith or the good of the whole community.”

—Corpus Christi Watershed

“Our Father” • Musical Setting?

Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?

—Jeff Ostrowski