• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Decapitation of an Innocent Meadowlark

Jeff Ostrowski · February 10, 2016

777 Meadowlark HEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY, my father took me into the country to hunt doves. I aimed my shotgun at what I thought was a dove, but—having shot it out of the sky—I discovered it was a beautiful meadowlark. When I picked it up, it was still alive, so I called out: “Dad, dad—the bird is still alive.” My father ran over and immediately twisted off its head, to my great horror. 1 All the way home, I quietly sobbed for this meadowlark—and for several days afterward.

Now that I’m in my 30s, I doubt that decapitating a meadowlark would cause me to sob for days. 2 But my question to you is: “Does that make it any less real?”

Consider the realm of music. Do you remember the first time you heard a piece you really loved? I certainly remember how moved I was when I first heard Victoria’s O Magnum Mysterium. I remember, too, how excited I was to discover the counterpoint in a 2-Part Invention by Bach. I remember how moved I was when I first heard Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli. Indeed, I could probably list more than 300 works—including a whole lot of Bach and Chopin—that gave me hours of delight. This concept will be familiar to you!

Sometimes, if you perform a piece of music hundreds of times—or hear it too much—it can “lose its luster.” It will not move you in the same way. Do we remember that people in the pews often lack our musical background? Do we fully understand that these are not people who have spent hours practicing a 3-Part Sinfonia by Bach? Do we recall that many Catholics have never sung “Row Row Row Your Boat” as a round, much less studied the Goldberg Variations of Bach?

Getting sick of music is nothing to be ashamed of. If you doubt this, read about Ferruccio Busoni’s final years, or learn what famous pianists said about judging competitions where the same piece of music is played 40-50 times by the various competitors.

MAKE SURE TO CONSTANTLY EXPAND your horizons as a music director, and don’t sing the same pieces over and over. If music becomes “stale” to you, your singers will be able to sense that! On the other hand, let’s remember never to dismiss the feelings of someone who has just experienced a famous piece of music—even if you’ve heard it so many times you want to scream. One solution that seems to work is to keep some repertoire the same year after year. For example, we always sing Credo IV at FSSP.la.

I call this issue—which I have pondered for many years—the “Meadowlark Phenomenon.” How do you solve it? Please leave your comments on the CCW Facebook.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   It’s standard practice for hunters to end the suffering of a wounded animal.

2   And I have no intention to find out.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Meadowlark Phenomenon Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

In the Orthodox Churches they have kept that pristine liturgy, so beautiful. We have lost a bit the sense of adoration. They keep, they praise God, they adore God, they sing, time doesn’t count. God is the center, and this is a richness …

— Pope Francis (8/2/2013)

Recent Posts

  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
  • At the Cross • Stabat Mater
  • Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2023

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.