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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

(Live Recording) • Hymn by Richard J. Clark

Jeff Ostrowski · July 3, 2019

NE OF THE PRESENTERS at Sacred Music Symposium 2019 was Maestro Richard J. Clark, choirmaster at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Archdiocese of Boston). We will have much more to say about the wonderful things Maestro Clark and the other presenters accomplished in Los Angeles last week. Indeed, over the next few weeks, we will release numerous wonderful recordings from Sacred Music Symposium 2019—Stay tuned!  One of the Symposium classes taught students to create “multi-track recordings”—and Maestro Clark’s hymn was chosen. (Very soon, the individual rehearsal videos will be released here.) It’s a hymn to the Sacred Heart with an English Translation by Monsignor Hugh T. Henry, who once taught Gregorian chant at St. Charles Seminary (Pennsylvania).

This same hymn (Auctor Beate Saeculi) was sung as an Entrance Hymn on the feast of the Sacred Heart, and here’s a live recording:


If you haven’t picked up a copy the Brébeuf Hymnal, what on earth are you waiting for? The choral scores are provided on DVD to any parish which purchases this hymnal, and the same harmonies are provided in the 3-volume Organ Accompaniment set, which you should purchase immediately—if you haven’t already done so.

Maestro Richard J. Clark maintains a weblog.

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 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).

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Quick Thoughts

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

In the ’60s, I thought this emphasis on congregational singing was to encourage good Catholic hymns like “Immaculate Mary” and so forth … but after the Council, they threw them out, too!

— ‘Fr. Valentine Young, OFM (2007)’

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