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Views from the Choir Loft

Seven Rules for Church Music (Sir Richard Terry)

Jeff Ostrowski · July 26, 2017

“They must be taught that it is folly to attempt music beyond their powers, and that it is a mistake to despise all but difficult compositions. Some of the sublimest music ever written is simplicity itself. I need only mention Palestrina’s Improperia and Mozart’s Ave verum as instances of this.”
—Sir Richard Runciman Terry (d. 1938)


NE OF THE THINGS I’ve learned about blogging is…it’s much harder than I realized. I used to read articles and blogs, and if I came across one sentence I disagreed with, I’d condemn the author as not worth reading. If I came across one mistake, I’d consign that website to oblivion. If I noticed one typo or formatting error, I’d basically assume the editor is a worthless idiot. It turns out it’s a lot easier to criticize than create something positive!

More than a decade ago, I discovered Terry’s book on Catholic Church Music. At that time, I decided it was “okay,” but didn’t agree with every single statement. I foolishly felt I could do better. Well, I revisited it a few days ago only to realize that it’s truly amazing!

* *  PDF Download • “Catholic Church Music” (218 Pages)

Here are his Seven Rules for Church Music:

099 Terry

The CMAA is to be commended for making Terry’s book available.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Sir Richard Runciman Terry Last Updated: September 4, 2020

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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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Quick Thoughts

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
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Like all other liturgical functions, like offices and ranks in the Church, indeed like everything else in the world, the religious service that we call the Mass existed long before it had a special technical name.

— Rev. Adrian Fortescue (1912)

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