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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

New Discovery in Canada

Andrew Leung · August 23, 2018

URING MY TRIP IN CANADA a month ago, I was very fortunate to have met some new musician friends. I was put in touch with a few music professors at the University of Toronto and was able to meet one of them in person. During our chat, we discussed about the situation of the local church music in Canada and in Hong Kong, which I have shared in a few posts before (HERE, HERE and HERE). I was introduced to some of the choral works by contemporary composers in Canada, and one of them is Stephanie Martin.



TEPHANIE MARTIN is an associate professor of music at York University and the director of Schola Magdalena (a women’s ensemble for chant, medieval and modern polyphony). She was the music director of the historic church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Toronto, where the famous Canadian composer Healey Willan had also held the very same position. And coincidentally, both Willan’s and Martin’s music are available for sale on Biretta Books.

Martin is a composer proficient in composing both instrumental and choral music. A lot of her choral works are composed based on religious texts. Personally, I found her composition style, a mix of chant, polyphony and modern harmonies, very beautiful and uplifting. And I would say that her sacred works are quite appropriate for liturgical use. Here is one of her compositions modeled after chant and polyphony: Kyrie from Missa Chicagoensis sung at St. John Cantius, Chicago.



If you are interested in her works, you can find out more on her website and you can also look up her works on YouTube. One of the many interesting videos I found is this interview where she talks about her setting of Sicut Cervus and how it was inspired by Palestrina, Debussy and Duruflé.

On a different note, the campus of the University of Toronto is gorgeous! Here are some pictures I took during my visit. I think many of our readers would appreciate these very classy halls and chapels.

CTL University of Toronto 1 CTL University of Toronto 2 CTL University of Toronto 3 CTL University of Toronto 4 CTL University of Toronto 5 CTL University of Toronto 6 CTL University of Toronto 7 CTL University of Toronto 8 CTL University of Toronto 9
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 Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

Quick Thoughts

    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

Random Quote

Although the New Testament is now so much more important to us than the Old, we must remember that the archetype of the Canon of Scripture is the Old Testament. At first that was the whole Bible, to Christians as to Jews. When the apostles speak of “Scripture” they mean the Old Testament only. Indeed, the way in which the books of the New Testament came to be considered canonical was by making them equal to those of the Old.

— Rev’d Doctor Adrian Fortescue

Recent Posts

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