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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

60 Minutes • “The Pope’s Choir” (Sistine Chapel)

Jeff Ostrowski · December 21, 2016

WONDERFUL CHORAL CONDUCTOR in Los Angeles, Mr. Pete Avendaño, recently posted about a segment on 60 MINUTES featuring the Pope’s Choir. At the bottom of this article, I provide a link to the complete video (12 minutes in duration).

The video is really spectacular, even riveting.

However, I do feel a few defects are present.


The video sharply condemns the choir’s previous directors:


Condemnation like this is a dangerous game. 1 For example, several clips they showed (from the current choir) are not immaculate. Furthermore, I suspect many professional conductors would condemn the current conductor’s wild motions and posture wherein his face appears “glued” to the score. It might have been better to simply focus on the positive. On the other hand, the producers of 60 MINUTES most likely insisted upon drama…


I really hope this sweet little boy doesn’t get in trouble for what he says about Pope Francis:


I know Pope Francis used to attend the opera, growing up. At the same time, I think he’s mentioned somewhere his singing is terrible.


The Pope’s Choir is quite selective:


I think it’s wonderful to have a selective choir—I truly do. At the same time, I believe the only way authentic sacred music will survive is if we take it “to the layman.” My choir in Los Angeles has very few members who read music, but they do a phenomenal job. I admit it’s much easier to conduct a group of professionally trained singers. I admit that teaching Catholics with scant liturgical music training has unique frustrations. But it’s so rewarding! And I truly believe that consigning authentic sacred music to “specialists” is the wrong way to go.

You can watch the full video at this link, but be careful—there are some inappropriate commercials not suited for young children.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Perhaps the producers felt safe because the choir did have such a poor reputation. A friend of mine was very highly placed in Rome, and I’ll never forget his words to me in 2004: “The Sistine choir is the scandal of Christendom. The group consists entirely of ringers from the opera!”

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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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

Had the Church never spoken on this matter, it would still be repugnant to our Catholic people’s sense of what is fit and proper in the holiest of places, that a priest should have to struggle through the prayers of the Holy Mass, because of such tunes as “Alice, where art thou?” the “Vacant Chair,” and others of more vulgar title, which, through the carelessness or bad judgment of organists, sometimes find their way into our choirs.

— Preface to a Roman Catholic Hymnal (1896)

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