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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

“Reproaches” for Good Friday (Recording)

Jeff Ostrowski · April 15, 2017

Many people have been sending us messages, asking for the below videos. In fact, we posted them last year—but perhaps some don’t realize that. It is against our policy to post things previously released; so please forgive this exception.

HE FOLLOWING BOOKLET is for the Extraordinary Form (“1955 Holy Week”) but the music is almost identical to the Ordinary Form. (Except for the Crucem Tuam antiphon, which seems to have been shifted to a different spot in the 1970s.)

*  PDF Download • “Musician’s Guide to Good Friday”


Mp3 versions:

Mp3 Audio • Part 1 of 2

Mp3 Audio • Part 2 of 2

The link is easy to remember: ccwatershed.org/friday/

This one also works:

https://www.ccwatershed.org/2017/04/15/good-friday-reproaches-recording/

Someone has talked about how missalette companies either delete or modify the Reproaches, even though they’re 100% part of the authentic “Ordinary Form” Rite. I’ve always been puzzled by attempts to render this beautiful ceremony into English—especially when people delete the Latin but leave the Greek untouched!

As you can see, the rubrics specifying which cantors sing when are quite ancient:

234 Good Friday Reproaches

What can be said of the prayers for Good Friday? Who could meditate upon them without being moved? My first chant teacher, Fr. Peter Gee, always said his favorite chants were the ones for Good Friday, and I think he was right.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Good Friday Reproaches, Holy Week Last Updated: April 1, 2021

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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“…it would be a very praiseworthy thing and the correction would be so easy to make that one could accommodate the chant by gradual changes; and through this it would not lose its original form, since it is only through the binding together of many notes put under short syllables that they become long without any good purpose when it would be sufficient to give one note only.”

— Zarlino (1558) anticipating the Medicæa

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