Views from the Choir Loft

Serving Latin Mass • Learn from FSSP Seminarians!

Corpus Christi Watershed · May 14, 2018

OW WOULD YOU LIKE for your son to learn the proper method of serving in the Extraordinary Form? What if you could have them trained by seminarians from the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter? Does this sound too good to be true? Think again!

Alongside the Sacred Music Symposium, there will be a special FSSP training camp for those who desire to serve at the Altar:

* * Direct Link: Register Instantly (FSSP.la)

Boys 12 and under have their own classes; so do boys 13 and older. All events take place at Saint Therese Catholic Church: 1100 East Alhambra Road; Alhambra, CA 91801. There is no cost, but a donation is requested to help cover the expense of feeding the participants—and young boys can eat a lot! (By the way, the Sacred Music Symposium still has a few spots available.)

89025 FSSP Altar Boy Training Workshop

Full Resolution Poster : (PNG) • (PDF)

89023 ALTAR BOYS Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter F

89023 ALTAR BOYS Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter E

89023 ALTAR BOYS Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter D

89023 ALTAR BOYS Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter C

89023 ALTAR BOYS Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter B

89023 ALTAR BOYS Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter A

Here’s a fantastic video from last year, courtesy of the TLM YouTube channel.

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

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

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