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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

“Catholic Choirmaster” • Fascinating Photo Taken 29 August 1964

Jeff Ostrowski · April 19, 2016

EARS AGO, I used to xerox copy tons of articles about musicians, conductors, pianists, sacred music, and so forth. This morning I found—stuffed into a box in my garage—an interesting page from “Catholic Choirmaster,” containing a photograph taken on 29 August 1964 at Boys Town. I believe this is when “Saint Gregory Society” merged with “Saint Cecilia Society” to form the “Church Music Association of America.” This xerox page is what I undoubtedly used to create this article.

547 Boys Town 1964 CMAA Meeting


Several in that photo are still fighting hard to promote good church music! Conspicuously absent was Roger Wager, who was probably touring. More information about Boys Town can be gleaned from these.

UPDATE :

From a reader:

You printed a picture of the original organizers of CMAA in today’s blog, and speculated that Roger Wagner might have been “on tour.” So happens that I was present for the Boys’ Town Music Workshop that preceded that organizational meeting. That year, Roger Wagner was present and—in a little less than one week of rehearsals—taught the assembled choir directors/organists/singers the entire Britten “War Requiem” and we then gave a concert performance of it with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. Side-note: Roger brought along his own soprano soloist for the piece, Carol Neblett. Small-world!! The next time I sang the piece, Carol Neblett was the soloist. That was under the baton of Ken Schermerhorn, her husband at the time, with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. I can no longer recall the scheduling, but vaguely remember that the organizational meeting was held following the workshop, so Roger (and Paul Salamunovich, and Carol) may well have left for a tour- or recording-date. Keep up the great work!!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Monsignor Francis P Schmitt 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“In older times we referred to humans as the human race, but according to this foundation we are being classed with the animals on the farm, the cow, the horse, the mule […] According to this foundation, I have no right to be born, for I am the youngest of 16 children, and God bless my mother for every one of them!”

— Archbishop Schrembs (d. 1945) vs. a foundation promoting artificial contraception

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