Views from the Choir Loft

Scogna and Olbash talk Gregorian Chant • “On a Sacred Note”

Richard J. Clark · August 3, 2018

’VE BEEN CATCHING UP with the Catholic TV Network’s series “On a Sacred Note” launched in June. Hosted by Stephanie Scogna (Artistic Director, Boston Art Song Society), the series explores over a millennium of music history through present-day genres and experiences. Scogna tackles subjects from Gregorian Chant to Navigating Vatican II on the parish level.

• WATCH EPISODE 1 with Michael Olbash Director of Music, St. Adelaide Parish, Peabody, Mass: How It Started | Gregorian Chant | Monophony (Scroll down to see an archive of all the shows in the series aired to date.)

Watch another episode with Michael Olbash here as they discuss this hot topic: Vatican II and the Vernacular Novus Ordo Part — Covering musical style changes after the Second Vatican Council.

• The show airs (HD) on Mon. 8:30 A.M., Tue. 8:30 P.M., Fri. 12 A.M., and Sat. 5 P.M. (All Eastern times) Beginning June 4, 2018, there will be a new episode each week.

• In addition to cable, Catholic TV is available on several streaming platforms. Chick here for various ways to watch. You can also get more information at CatholicTV.org.

HESE SHOWS ARE AN EXTRAORDINARY resource for laypersons and musicians alike who wish to learn an overview of the Church’s vast history and treasury of sacred music. It is also a great resource for children and adults to round out their appreciation and understanding of the role of music in prayer, as well as its influence on all of Western music! (My eight-year-old son and I have watched and listened together!)

The shows feature a different compelling topic each week, beginning with simple and easily understandable explanations by host Stephanie Scogna. This is followed up by interviews with various musicians and concludes with superlative musical examples sung by the The Brookline Consort. You can listen to the many of their musical performances from the show on YouTube here.

It’s a musical and prayerful feast!

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

About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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