Views from the Choir Loft

“Pater Noster” by Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel

Jeff Ostrowski · May 8, 2018

AVE YOU applied to the 2018 Sacred Music Symposium, to be held in June? If not, why not? We have accepted 75 singers, but a few spots still remain. Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity! For example, participants will sing a marvelous composition by Msgr. Jules Van Nuffel, whose artistry has inspired everything in my musical career, ever since I first discovered him in 1998, thanks to Dr. Daniel Politoske. ¹

This breathtaking “Our Father” will close the Symposium:

HAVE recorded rehearsal videos for each individual line, and you can access them at the following website, along with information about the PDF score:

* * PATER NOSTER (Rehearsal videos) …Search for number 89161

For example, here’s my practice video for the TENOR voice:

Those who attend the Symposium this year will learn how I create rehearsal videos like those. You owe it to yourself to visit that web link, listen to some rehearsal videos, and consider whether you should apply for the 2018 Sacred Music Symposium.

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 Jules Van Nuffel composes using a “contemporary” (modern) harmonic language, as opposed to, for example, a Romantic, Baroque, or Classical style. There are also “contemporary” (living) composers who attempt to imitate former styles—but Jules Van Nuffel does not fall into that category.

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

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).

22 October 2021 • “Sad & Unnecessary”

The USCCB has completely deleted a section of their website which (before they deleted it) contained helpful resources for the classical Roman Rite. Something cool they had included (before they deleted it) was a link to the new prefaces, approved by Pope Francis on 25 March 2020. Will this madness never end?

—Jeff Ostrowski

11 October 2021 • “Sing All Verses?”

Some claim Catholics deserve condemnation because (unlike Protestants) Catholics often omit verses when singing hymns at Mass. Is that true? The wonderful Sophia Institute Press—as part of a series on authentic sacred music—has provided an answer (PDF) to this question.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Where do Catholics find hymns?

The wonderful Sophia Institute Press has begun a “Q+A” section which tackles common liturgical questions, and here’s a sample: “At a conference I recently attended, the speaker said hymns don’t belong at Mass; was he telling the truth?” And you can read the answer. To access the complete set (which is a work in progress), scroll towards the bottom of this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

There is a lack of that kind of organization which favors mature judgment. Move on, move on, get it out. Schemata are multiplied without ever arriving at a considered form. The system of discussion is bad … Often the schemata arrive just before the discussions. Sometimes, and in important matters, such as the new anaphoras, the schema was distributed the evening before the discussion was to take place … Father Bugnini has only one interest: press ahead and finish.

— Cardinal Antonelli (Peritus during the Second Vatican Council)