Views from the Choir Loft

The Pope Who Had … A Child?

Jeff Ostrowski · January 17, 2016

OPE GREGORY XIII was a great supporter of Palestrina, who returned the favor by frequently dedicating musical scores to him. Palestrina also dedicated compositions (on occasion) to the pope’s natural son. Wait…his son?

Yes, it turns out that—during his early life—Gregory XIII had a son (Giacomo Boncompagni) with an unmarried woman. Someday, I’d like to learn more about this, because it must have been hard for Gregory XIII to encourage Catholics not to break the 6th Commandment, considering his past. For the record, Palestrina seems to have been a very holy man.

The Diario of 1594 records an interesting anecdote about Pope Clement VIII. The pontifical choir sang “In diademate capitis” by Giovanni Maria Nanini. This motet seemed to displease Pope Clement, and he asked whose composition it was. They told him it was Nanini.

Because Nanini was known as a great composer, ¹ the pope attempted to soften his criticism, declaring that it was the words of the motet he objected to. However, the maestro di cappella responded that these words came from the Bible…and Pope Clement fell silent!

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 I’m told Nanini was even a colleague of Palestrina at a special music school.

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

“Music List” • 22nd in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 31 August 2025, which is the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“The Worm That Dieth Not”

My pastor asked me to write a column for our parish bulletin with reflections on the sacred liturgy and church music. In my most recent article, I discuss “The Worm That Dieth Not.” At this website, you can access it conveniently; simply scroll down to the one dated 31 August 2025.

—Jeff Ostrowski

A Nice Hymn In Spanish

In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)

How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Pius XII Hymnal?

Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

“Hybrid” Chant Notation?

Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.

—Corpus Christi Watershed