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Views from the Choir Loft

Greatest Church Music Book Ever Written?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 12, 2016

126 Paul Hume CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC OMETIMES PEOPLE want to know the greatest book on Catholic church music ever written. Many say it’s the 1907 volume by Sir Richard R. Terry, and there’s no denying it’s a good read. Others might mention books by Karl Gustav Fellerer or William Mahrt—and there are many others from which to choose.

For myself, I’d be tempted to cite the 1956 book CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC by Paul Hume.

Here’s a sample chapter:

    * *  Chapter IV: • THE PROBLEM OF HYMNS

Paul Hume (1915-2001) served as music editor for the Washington Post from 1946 to 1982, and was once sent a famous piece of hate mail by President Truman after Hume criticized the singing technique of the president’s daughter.

A friend of mine sent me a Google link to the entire book 1 (out-of-print for decades), which was originally published by a defunct company that went out existence in 1990. You can download the entire book, but please exercise caution—you won’t be able to stop reading! Paul Hume is a fantastic wordsmith, and anyone who reads our blog is in love with the subject matter, needless to say.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   By the way, the book’s Preface is by Rev’d Francis Guentner (1917-2013), a famous church musician who studied theology at St. Mary’s College in Kansas. That college—formerly owned by the Jesuits—now belongs to the SSPX, and I’m told the entire property was sold to them for a dollar. (That’s what I was told, but who knows if it’s true.)

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Jeff Ostrowski

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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

4 March 2021 • Can you spare 15 seconds?

Due to Covid-19, California has basically been under “lock down” for 11 months, and these restrictions have had quite a detrimental effect on our choral programs. We are frequently limited to just 2-3 singers, on account of regulations by the government and our Archdiocese. However, although the number of singers is quite small, I was struck by the beauty of the singing last Sunday. Listen to this 15-second live excerpt and see if you agree?

—Jeff Ostrowski
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Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

It would be contrary to the Constitution to decree or even to hint that sung celebrations, especially of the Mass, should be in Latin.

— Annibale Bugnini attacking “Sacrosanctum Concilium” (§36)

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