• 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)

  • About
  • Symposium
  • Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Best Mystery Movie Of All Time!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 5, 2017

|{Scroll down, and you’ll see my article does relate to the topic of sacred music.}

F YOU HAVEN’T seen “The White Knight Stratagem,” please promise me you’ll carve out an hour from your schedule, wait until it’s raining outside, and watch it attentively in front of your fireplace. For the rest of your life, you’ll thank me; this is an incredible mystery movie. The plot and actors are phenomenal, and there’s very little objectionable. 1 Those of us who have been involved with filmography will rejoice in the careful angles, which assist in telling the tale. The movie (fictional) is about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who (in real life) wrote Sherlock Holmes. Some may not realize Doyle (in real life) used his “investigative method” to prove the innocence of men imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit.

HOW DOES THIS MOVIE relate to sacred music? Let me explain. I’ve noticed something about “progressive” liturgists: they are embarrassed about their musical choices. On the contrary, promoters of authentic sacred music are always bubbling over with joy. They can’t stop singing the praises (pardon the pun!) of church compositions by true masters. I believe “progressive” liturgists realize deep down—in spite of what they say publicly—they’re promoting extremely poor quality music. They realize serious Catholics looking for authentic liturgical music will never come to them. 2

Years ago, my family eliminated cable TV, because 99% of television is garbage. But every so often, we stumble upon true excellence—and “The White Knight Stratagem” is an example.

The producers of “White Stratagem” may have been tempted to throw up their hands, in the face of such unspeakable garbage shown on television; I’m glad they didn’t.

We also might be tempted to give up, when we see how many parishes have replaced authentic sacred music with horrific “lowest common denominator” music. We must not.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Somebody does get shot, but they don’t show anything too disturbing. The Lord’s Name is misused a few times, but Catholics can tolerate this as we do when watching A Man For All Seasons, which is also a truly remarkable film.

2   Those of us who went to conservatories will never forget the derision poured on the Catholic church by secular professors, who exclaimed: “You Catholics had the absolute greatest music, and look what you traded it for!” Indeed, many musicians desiring to employ Roman Catholic music now work for Protestant churches in order to do so—which is very sad.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 12, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

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

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

“Church officials frequently asked Tomás Luis de Victoria for his opinion on cathedral appointments because of his fame and knowledge. He was faithful to his position as convent organist even after his professional debut as an organist, and never accepted any extra pay for being a chapelmaster. Held in great esteem, his contract allowed him frequent travel away from the convent, and he attended Palestrina’s funeral (in Rome) in 1594.”

— ‘Dr. Robert Stevenson, 1961 (mod.)’

Recent Posts

  • 19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”
  • “Gregorian Chant Not In Danger Pope Tells French”
  • PDF Download • “O Salutaris” (Modern Setting)
  • Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2022
  • PDF Download • 2022 “Vespers Booklet” (99 Pages)

Copyright © 2022 Corpus Christi Watershed · Gabriel Lalemant 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.