• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

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.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
    • “Let the Choir Have a Voice” (Essay)
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

Your Christmas Present!

Jeff Ostrowski · December 24, 2017

90902 CCW present E RECENTLY launched a special fundraising drive, and promised to release certain items if we met our goal. Thanks to your generosity, we succeeded; so below are the files we promised. Of course the money is important—because it allows us to survive—but on a level you might not realize, the fundraising also gives encouragement. It demonstrates that our efforts matter enough to readers that they’ll donate (and church musicians are not wealthy). We enjoyed reading the little “notes” you sent in with your pledges, even the electronic ones.

When our contributors get discouraged, I always say the same thing: “Remember we are trying to do something positive. This is not easy; and the proof is how few Catholic websites are positive vs. how many Catholic websites consist of negativity, gossip, and scandal.”

Merry Christmas!

    * *  PDF Score • Kevin Allen “Gloria” (Never Released)

PDF Document (score)

EQUAL VOICES : Mp3 Audio

SOPRANO : Audio

ALTO : Audio

TENOR : Audio

BASS : Audio

Listen to an excerpt of the premiere performance conducted by Dr. Horst Buchholz. The piece is dedicated to St. Jean de Brébeuf, and Mr. Allen really captured the sound of the North American missionaries.


    * *  YouTube • Dr. Tappan — TRAINING YOUTH CHOIRS (46 minutes)

YouTube Video

This 46-minute video contains a marvelous presentation by Dr. Lucas Tappan.


    * *  PDF • Jeff Ostrowski — CRUCIAL SURVIVAL TACTICS (12 pages)

PDF Document (12 pages)

This 2017 presentation by Jeff Ostrowski is totally different than the speech he gave in 2016.


    * *  PDF • Pete Avendaño — REPERTOIRE FOR CHILDREN (17 pages)

PDF Document (391 pieces)

You will not want to miss this marvelous list compiled by Pete Avendaño, containing approximately 391 pieces. Mr. Avendaño is one of the world’s most esteemed teachers of youth singers.


    * *  PDF • Dr. Calabrese — REPERTOIRE FOR CHILDREN (32 pieces)

PDF Document

This list of 32 pieces that work well for children was compiled by Dr. Calabrese for one of his talks.


    * *  PDF • Dr. Tappan — REPERTOIRE FOR CHILDREN (3 pages)

PDF Document (3 pages)

Dr. Lucas Tappan has assembled a list of pieces “that just work.”


    * *  PDF • Fr. Popplewell — HYMN TALK (13 pages)

PDF Document (notes)

These are the notes Fr. Popplewell used for his talk on hymns.


    * *  PDF • Dr. Calabrese — RENAISSANCE TALK (2 pages)

PDF Document (notes)

These are the notes Dr. Calabrese used for his talk on Renaissance polyphony.


    * *  PDF • Jeff Ostrowski — ONLINE RESOURCES (5 pages)

PDF Document

Jeff Ostrowski gave this presentation, entitled: “Taking Advantage of Online Resources.”


    * *  PDF • Nova Organi Harmonia — VOLUME SIX (126 pages)

    * *  Low Res (8MB) • NOH Volume 6

    * *  High Res (239MB) • NOH Volume 6

For decades, we have been searching for Volume 6 of the Nova Organi Harmonia. We have obtained a pristine copy, and made two versions: Low Res (8MB) and High Res (239MB). These are extremely rare Gregorian chant accompaniments.


    * *  PDF • SYMPOSIUM BOOKLET (260 pages)

PDF Document (260 pages)

This 260-page booklet is not something you can live without.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Good Friday Flowers
    Good Friday has a series of prayers for various parties: the pope, catechumens, pagans, heretics, schismatics, and so forth. In the old liturgical books, there was no official ‘name’ for these prayers. (This wasn’t unusual as ‘headers’ and ‘titles’ for each section is a rather modern idea.) The Missal simply instructed the priest to go to the Epistle side and begin. In the SHERBORNE MISSAL, each prayer begins with a different—utterly spectacular—flower. This PDF file shows the first few prayers. Has anyone counted the ‘initial’ drop-cap flowers in the SHERBORNE MISSAL? Surely there are more than 1,000.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (3rd Sunday of Lent)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 3rd Sunday of Lent (8 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has magnificent propers. Its stern INTROIT (“Óculi mei semper ad Dóminum”) is breathtaking, and the COMMUNION (“Qui bíberit aquam”) with its fauxbourdon verses is wonderful. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —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

Quick Thoughts

    “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation
    It isn’t easy to determine what Alice King MacGilton hoped to accomplish with her very popular book—A Study of Latin Hymns (1918)—which continued to be reprinted in new editions for at least 34 years. This PDF file shows her attempt to translate the DIES IRAE “in the fewest words possible.” There’s a place for dynamic equivalency, but this is repugnant. In particular, look what she does to “Quærens me sedísti lassus.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”
    For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.
    —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

Random Quote

Using the shoddiest, sleaziest material we have for the purpose of glorifying God is not very sound theology or even very good common sense. […] (In general, when you see a diminished seventh chord in a hymn, run.) And these chords are usually used in bad hymns in precisely the same order in which they occur in “Sweet Adeline.”

— Paul Hume (1956)

Recent Posts

  • Most “Congregational” Hymn • (In My Experience)
  • Music is the “Humble Handmaid” of the Mass
  • Good Friday Flowers
  • PDF Download • “Entrance Chant” for Holy Thursday (Plainsong in English)
  • “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2026 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues 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.