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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Kids Are Colorblind But Adults Are Not

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · May 3, 2017

AST WEEK in my article, I mentioned my daughter, so I thought this week I’d reference my son. When he was about three years old we lived in Atlanta and he was in a daycare with children of many different races. His best friend there was a Chinese boy. My son never asked about the color of anyone’s skin or the shape of their eyes. To him and all the other kids there, they were just kids—all the same. They didn’t have any prejudices or biases. Here’s a beautiful example of what I’m talking about.


Isn’t this kind of colorblindness always the case? Until, of course, adults and society get involved, and begin to inflict their biases on children. I’ve often thought that this is what happens with music, especially music in the Church.

ANYONE INVOLVED WITH TEACHING music to children, especially very young children, will know that they’ll gladly sing anything you put in front of them. If they know you like it, they’ll like it. If you tell them, “this is what you’re supposed to do,” they’ll gladly do it. It’s been wonderful to hear the first and second graders in our school sing hymns like Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All (SWEET SACRAMENT). They absolutely love it! It’s equally great to know that my choir kids love Panis Angelicus and Fauré’s Ave Maria.

Too often, however, adults (parents, teachers, older children) tell them that’s not the music they’re supposed to like. It’s not cool. And besides, aren’t kids supposed to be cute? What normal kid would like Latin? What modern Catholic kid wouldn’t want to sing something exciting, with fun things like clapping and stamping and raising up their arms? It’s when they experience these prejudices that kids start to think twice, biases set in, and we’ve lost them.

What’s both interesting and sad is when adults with these prejudices hear children joyfully singing traditional music, they dismiss it as an aberration. Further, they often stereotype these kids. They’ll say that the little ones are too young to know better, or that the choir kids are just a little “different” (weird, or worse). “Just wait until they become teenagers,” they say, “then they’ll really rebel.”

I’m convinced that kids and teens have been taught by adults with an agenda to dislike solid hymnody, chant, and anything that smacks of tradition in the Church. So many adults find it necessary to inflict their prejudices on these children instead of just staying out of it. I think I know why. Do you?

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 Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Dr. Alfred Calabrese is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX. He and his wife have two children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Chants closely related to the readings should, of course, be appropriately transferred for use with these readings. For pastoral reasons also there is an option regarding the chants for the Proper of Seasons: namely, as circumstances suggest, to replace the text proper to a day with another text belonging to the same season.”

— Ordo Cantus Missae (1971)

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  • Why A “Fugue” Here?
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  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”

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