Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Cheat Sheet” for Easter Vigil

Jeff Ostrowski · April 20, 2019

WILL UNDOUBTEDLY regret doing this, but below I’ve made available the choir “cheat sheet” we are using this year for the (Pre-1955) Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Not included are pieces we do in sacred polyphony, such as the KYRIE, GLORIA, and the Communion hymn:

* * PDF Download • “Cheat Sheet” for EASTER VIGIL (Pre-1955)

We normally sing the full Gregorian canticles (tracts) after the Prophecies, but this year we are using Psalm Tones because we are outside.

Yes, you heard me correctly…we are outside this year!

You see, our parish has grown so large, we no longer come close to fitting inside our {temporary} church. Until we can purchase a bigger church, we are forced to conduct Holy Week services in a parking lot, underneath a tent that can accommodate 600+ people. It is absolutely remarkable to observe the devotion of these Catholics, who sometimes kneel in a parking lot for 2-3 hours so they can take part in the ancient Catholic rites. Our pastor, Fr. James Fryar, built this temporary altar by hand:

84911 altar 002

84911 altar 001

If anybody wins the lottery and wants to buy us a large church, please let me know!

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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.

—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