Views from the Choir Loft

Thoughts on Benedict

Fr. David Friel · June 4, 2017

HE LATEST edition of the liturgy magazine, Altare Dei, has just been released. This is the fourth issue of the growing publication, and it includes many fine articles and musical scores. It also features a new, more attractive format.

The twofold theme of this issue is the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions and the 90th birthday of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Among the excellent articles are the following contributions:

The Mysteries of Fatima (Marco Tosatti)

The Eucharist According to Edward Schillebeeckx (Givanni Cavalcoli)

Why Does the Church’s Liturgy Bore the Faithful So Much (Denis Crouan)

The Substantial Benedict (David Fagerberg)

Traditional Liturgy as Field Hospital (Roberto Spataro)

The Problem of the Sacred (Samuel Nyom)

Breaking Liturgical Bad Habits (Peter Kwasniewski)

“Tradition is Christ, Himself”: An Interview with Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke (Aurelio Porfiri)

My own article in this issue is entitled Thoughts from Benedict, and it draws upon two insights that I gleaned from St. Benedict via the life and writings of Pope Benedict XVI. Reflecting upon a quote about ars celebrandi from Pope Benedict’s 2006 address to the priests of Albano, I observe the following:

Understanding the Church’s worship as a gift that “precedes us” is an essential realization for every priest who celebrates the sacred liturgy. Understood in this way, ministry is less about interjecting personal creativity than it is about facilitating communion with God and with our fellow pilgrims. Entering into the mens and vox of the Church comes to be seen, in this light, as a step toward spiritual freedom and an act of generous humility.

As is true of each issue of Altare Dei, this latest installment features a substantial musical insert. Four pieces are included this month:

Deo Gratias (SATB and Organ) – Colin Mawby

Virgo Clemens (SATB) – Valentino Miserachs

De Maria Numquam Satis SATB – Aurelio Porfiri

O Salutaris Hostia (SA and Organ) – Aurelio Porfiri

Anyone interested in sacred music and the liturgy will find this to be a very interesting issue. It is available here, at the cost of €6.80. Download the latest issue, and see the excellent content and updated format for yourself!

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

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

“Samaritánæ” (3rd Sunday of Lent)

With regard to the COMMUNION for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year A), the Ordo Cantus Missae—which was published in 1969 by the Vatican, bearing Hannibal Bugnini’s signature and approbation in its PREFACE—inexplicably introduced a variant melody and slightly different words, as you can see by this comparison chart. When it comes to such items, they’re always done in secrecy by unnamed people. (Although it is known that Dom Eugène Cardine collaborated in the creation of the GRADUALE SIMPLEX, a book considered by some to be a travesty.)

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Cantus Mariales” (192 pages)

Andrea Leal has posted an absolutely pristine scan of CANTUS MARIALES (192 pages) which can be downloaded as a PDF file. To access this treasure, navigate to the frabjous article Andrea posted Monday. The file is being offered completely free of charge. The beginning pages of the book have something not to be missed: viz. a letter from Pope Saint Pius X to Dom Pothier, in which the pope calls Abbat Pothier “a man versed above all others in the science of liturgy, and to whom the cause of Gregorian chant is greatly indebted.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Grotesque Pairing • “Passion Chorale”

One of our rarest releases was undoubtably this PDF scan of the complete Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) by Father Joseph Roff, a student of Healey Willan. One of the scarcest titles in existence, this book was provided to us by Mr. Peter Meggison. Back in 2018, we scanned each page and uploaded it to our website, making it freely available to everyone. Readers are probably sick of hearing me say this, but just because we upload something that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wonderful or worthy of imitation. We upload many publications precisely because they are ‘grotesque’, interesting, or revealing. Whereas the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal had an editorial board that was careful and sensitive vis-à-vis pairing texts with tunes, the Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) seems to have been rather reckless in this regard. Please take a look at what they did with the PASSION CHORALE and see whether you agree.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Extreme Unction

Those who search Google for “CCCC MS 079” will discover high resolution images of a medieval Pontificale (“Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 079”). One of the pages contains this absolutely gorgeous depiction of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”

I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”

—Jeff Ostrowski