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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Does Watershed Make A Difference?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 13, 2017

4450 picture S YOU KNOW, all of us here at Watershed are volunteers. We have no staff and no salaries. Every so often, my fellow bloggers and I wonder if we are making an impact on the “real world.”

Here’s something powerful we recently received from Maryland:

Dear Corpus Christi Watershed,

I wanted to send a note to tell you what an incredible blessing your webpage and blog have been to me.

I am a vocalist and have been all my life. I am very studied, though I have no formal degree in music (in high school, thinking I’d never pay the bills with music, I got a degree in something else that makes no money and required a Master’s degree for employment!). I am an educator by trade. When I had my first child, I quit working full time but was asked shortly after to cantor at my parish—I wasn’t even fully Catholic at the time! Through much prayer, I discerned God was calling me to lead my parish’s music program when our brand new pastor came to our parish in 2013. I was hired as a part-time music director in early 2014 (right before finishing RCIA and being received into the Church at Easter Vigil).

For the past 3.5 years, I have been systematically implementing much of the good advice and practice I’ve gleaned from reading Views from the Choir Loft and endlessly exploring the Watershed website. Formerly our parish had folk Masses, Breaking Bread Missals, a volunteer choir that didn’t formally practice, and cantors only at big events. Now we have mostly organ-led Masses every weekend and feast, a more traditional Missal and Hymnal—allowing us to implement the communion antiphon—a regularly meeting and practicing choir, and (last year) we regularly sang in 2-part harmonies!

This past spring, you re-posted the Polyphonic rehearsal videos on Facebook and I knew I had to take advantage of that golden resource. Our county’s deanery planned a Fatima pilgrimage: a celebration the 13th of the month for six straight months at a different parish around the county. I knew when I saw those rehearsal videos that we had to utilize them for our turn (which was tonight).

I have an all-female choir of about 8 dedicated women who sing every Sunday. During Christmas and Easter I convene a “festival choir” and get a few more volunteers to make our bigger Masses more special. So, I recruited another 15 men and women to join us for tonight’s Mass, using music almost entirely from your page:

—Guerrero’s Missa Iste Sanctus

—Hymn to Mary

—Hail, Holy Queen

—A communion antiphon for the Marian Mass we chose that Richard Rice whipped up for me when I cried for help on the CMAA page a few days ago!

—Filled out the time with a few well known Marian and Eucharistic hymns.

We had about 250-300 in attendance (full for our little parish). It was a huge success! My pastor was blown away at the beauty of the Mass setting by Guerrero. The people in attendance were just floored by how the 4-part choir enhanced the Mass. To quote our priest and echoed by others, they felt “like we were in heaven.” One older gentleman and his wife approached me after Mass and thanked me for the pleasant surprise. He said “I already knew I was going to witness the miracle of the Blessed Sacrament tonight, but never did I think I’d open a program and see the MISSA ISTE SANCTUS.”

I just cannot thank you enough for how much your ministry has helped me grow and helped me introduce my parish to the incredible sounds that the human voice is capable of. I hope you’ll share some of my story on your blog and social media to encourage others to get out of their comfort zone and try beautiful things in their liturgies! My only regret is that with the stress of the night, I didn’t get any video or audio to send to Jeff Ostrowski so he could he could hear how all his soprano singing was worth it—to see little old ladies and scared young tenors singing sacred polyphony for the first time in their lives!


For whatever reason, these last two weeks have been full of heavy crosses.

A letter like this was so gratifying to receive!

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 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“We wish to express the hope that students of Gregorian Chant come back to the pure Vatican Edition, in the ancient block-note form, without the addition of any signs whatever, in order to achieve Gregorian unity.”

— Josef Gogniat (12 March 1938)

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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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.

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