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

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Views from the Choir Loft

Ward Method Studies • Space Available!

Jeff Ostrowski · April 4, 2016

613 Ward Method HE CENTRE for Ward Method Studies in the B. T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America announces the immediate availability of online registration for three Ward Method intensive courses scheduled for 20-24 June 2016 in Washington:

    * *  WARD METHOD STUDIES 2016

Complete instructions are posted following the course descriptions, and if one follows them carefully, application for admission should not present problems. Tuition scholarships are still available, upon request (skeris@cua.edu).

612 Ward Method Gregorian Chant 611 Ward Method Gregorian Chant 610 Ward Method Gregorian Chant

The chief tenets of the Ward Method can be summarized in five points:

(1) The basic principle is that music is a fundamental element in the development of the intellect and the formation of character.

(2) The Ward Method correlates the study of music with the other subjects of the curriculum, with special attention to those aspects of music that foster appreciation of and participation in liturgical singing.

(3) Whilst the voice alone is the basis of the musical training imparted, foundations are laid for a deep and broad study of musical theory.

(4) The Ward Method consistently applies the pedagogical principle that the normal process of development is from content to form.

(5) The Method proceeds from germinal musical elements, through a series of easily graded developmental phases, toward the complex details involved in the artistic rendering of musical compositions.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Justine Ward Solesmes, Ward Method Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Why do we never sing “De Spiritu Sancto” (St. Athenogenes) in our churches? There are a dozen translations in English verse. Where could anyone find a better evening hymn than this, coming right down from the catacombs? Our hymnbooks know nothing of such a treasure as this, and give us pages of poor sentiment in doggerel lines by some tenth-rate modern versifier.

— Rev’d Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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