Views from the Choir Loft

New England Pueri Cantores Choral Festival and Mass • Cathedral of the Holy Cross

Richard J. Clark · November 22, 2019

OPE FRANCIS recently said, “Do not forget this: Liturgy is the first ‘teacher’ of catechism.” Singing liturgical music from our rich Roman Catholic tradition isn’t just about the music, but nurturing faith through the Sacred Liturgy.

I encourage Choir Directors to bring all treble and mixed voice choirs (grades 4-12) to the newly renovated Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on Saturday, March 21, 2020 for the American Federation Pueri Cantores New England Choral Festival and Mass.

• Registration, and brochure:

• REGISTER ONLINE HERE

• PDF Download • New England Catholic Youth Choral Festival and Mass • 2020.

Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Robert P. Reed, President of Catholic TV and Auxiliary Bishop of Boston. Nationally celebrated conductor, Dr. Richard Robbins will conduct, and I will personally accompany the Mass and rehearsals.

• Eight Professional Development Credits will be extended to conductors of participating choirs!

• MP3 audio recordings and downloadable scores will are available for participating choirs.

I encourage choir directors to consider this festival not only for strong singers, but also for those for whom this may be a welcome challenge. The environment is nurturing, positive, and joyful!

For questions or information click here to email me.

I look forward to welcoming all of you to the Cathedral to share in this beautiful and prayerful event!

Richard J. Clark
Director of Music
Archdiocese of Boston
Cathedral of the Holy Cross

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).

6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski

2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski

31 December 2020 • “COMITES CHRISTI”

The feasts for Saint Stephen Proto-Martyr (26 December), Saint John the Evangelist The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (27 December), and the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December) seem untouched by any liturgical reforms. These are very powerful feasts—I believe they once possessed octaves—and I believe they could sometimes “overpower” a Sunday feast. The rules for octaves in the olden days are extremely complex. These feasts are sometimes referred to as a single entity as: Comites Christi (“Companions of Christ”). This is just a guess, but there seems to be a triple significance: STEPHEN martyred after Christ lived, JOHN was a martyr who knew Christ personally, and the HOLY INNOCENTS were martyred before Christ’s birth.

—Jeff Ostrowski