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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Brave Schola Director Posts “Live” Recording 1

Jeff Ostrowski · February 8, 2018

EAR AFTER YEAR goes by, and I never cease to be fascinated by recordings of choral music—they always sound terrible! They seldom reproduce the true choral sound with anything approaching accuracy. I’m physically present, so I know how good it sounds; but when I go home and hear a recording I recoil in horror. Which should I believe: My own ears, or the pocket recorder? I ask myself again and again, without ever becoming reconciled to this bizarre phenomenon.

Someone recorded snippets of our FSSP choir singing (28 January 2018):


The ladies singing the Gradual psalm tone was gorgeous in real life. The “live” pocket recording sounds terrible by comparison.

Believe me. I was there.

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
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

Random Quote

To end an impropriety, noticed particularly at orchestral Vespers, when two or three Psalms are sung with full orchestra, and then the other Psalms and the Hymn are rapidly hurried through with organ accompaniment only […] we order that at Mass all portions of the text, including “Agnus Dei,” be sung with orchestral accompaniment. […] Moreover, the musicians are not allowed to put the instruments away and leave their places before the conclusion of the sacred function.

— Cardinal Patrizi (18 November 1856)

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