• 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

The Older I Get…

Richard J. Clark · April 28, 2017

HE PIPE ORGAN changed my life. I was a pianist as a child and I avoided playing the organ because the only organs I ever heard were electronic instruments that were not played very well. Why play hymns on the organ when you can play Chopin and Beethoven on the piano?

A lot has changed since! A life-changing moment was playing a real pipe organ for the first time and hearing a simple 8’ flute stop resonate throughout an empty church. My life has never been the same since.

What followed were studies in counterpoint and organ performance including repertoire from French and German Baroque to contemporary classical composers. I devoted my craft to years of study and practice of such repertoire. Registration is an essential art and science. Appropriate tempo, articulation, and registration depend on architecture and the tonal design of the organ. Adaptability, yet striving for authentic historic practice has been my life.

For church, the vast majority of practice was on preludes and postludes. Hymns were nothing. Easy, right?

GAIN, MUCH HAS CHANGED. Not that focusing on repertoire is not important. It is. But the older I get, the more time I spend on practicing hymns, even ones I have played for decades. (Hymn playing alone is an art!) The older I get, the more time I spend practicing the congregational antiphons and responses. The older I get, the more time I devote to making sure I can conduct clearly—perhaps while singing one of the choral voices all from the organ console.

If the choir doesn’t respond the way I like them to, perhaps I should conduct better. If the congregation doesn’t sing comfortably, perhaps I should adjust the tempo or registration.

Playing daily Mass and singing each verse of every hymn will influence one’s view. Type setting hymns and antiphons for worship aids will heighten one’s awareness of the quality (or lack thereof) of any text.

Hymns are important. Hymnals are important. Liturgical texts are important. Making the congregation’s job easier to sing these is the ultimate goal. The older I get, the more I spend on these. If not, what good am I to the prayer of the people?

Finally, this often begs an important question: Who is the leader of song anyway? Read. And practice.

Soli Deo Gloria

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

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
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

From Chelan, Washington: “CCWatershed is a God-sent resource that I can’t function without! Such great work by the team to bring beauty back to our liturgy!” From Gainesville, Florida: “I am so appreciative of the work, of my brothers and sisters in music!” From Troutman, North Carolina: “Keep up the excellent work in service of the Liturgy!”

—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

  • “Exceeded Every Expectation!” • Mr. O’Brien’s Review
  • “81 Photos” • Sacred Music Symposium 2022
  • Photograph • Dom André Mocquereau (d. 1930)
  • “I Found Myself Weeping, Almost In Disbelief…”
  • Our Daily Prayer • Sacred Music Symposium 2022

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.