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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Youth Choristers: Get Them While They’re Young

Patrick Torsell · January 14, 2020

T is an oft-repeated truism that the future is in the hands of the youth. To a group of young people St. John Paul II once said: “The future is in your hearts and in your hands.” And yet the future that the youth will usher in depends in large part upon what we instill in their hearts and place in their hands. Applying this notion to sacred music, it is clear that we should do all that we can to form young people to understand the mens ecclesiae regarding liturgical music, and to fill their ears, hearts, and minds with truly sacred music from a young age. And not just the children with natural musical aptitude!

I’m very blessed to work in a parish where we have made this a priority, and so I shall endeavor to share some of our efforts, successes, and challenges in several blog posts over the coming months. For this post, I’ll just share an overview of our program in its current form, and we can dive into some more details in the future.

In our small Latin Mass community–with an average Sunday Mass attendance of about 475–we have more than 80 students ages 7-18 in our Chorister program. Choristers meet once a week as an extension of our religious education program. Split into five separate classes (more on how we separate them in a future post), Choristers is a combined lecture/practicum program to introduce students to the history, philosophy, theory, and application of sacred music.

Our Choristers are not auditioned, and all students participating in the weekly religious education program also participate in Choristers. Along with their classwork, the Choristers prepare chant, hymns, and simple polyphony to sing for two High Masses per semester. The program has grown tremendously in the past three years (there were about 35 students in 2017/18), and the students genuinely enjoy learning about sacred music. One of the most rewarding things for me as their teacher and director is when, as just recently happened, a parent remarks: “My boy has always been an athlete, a football player. Now I hear him wandering around the house humming Gregorian chants!” Deo gratias! (N.B. I have no bias against athletes; I’ve been a competitive skier in the past. I just love it when others make the epiphanic realization that athleticism and musicianship are not mutually exclusive!)

In future posts about engaging young people in sacred music, I’ll address a few important topics:

  • What sort of curriculum is effective?
  • Why allow non-musically oriented students in the program?
  • What techniques are useful to keep students engaged in lectures and rehearsal?
  • What’s the difference between this sort of Chorister program and a typical youth choir?
  • What kind of external support is required to make a Chorister program successful?

I’m sure other ideas will come to mind. If you have any specific questions you’d like me to address, please feel free to email me.

Stay tuned for more, and may God reward you for your dedication to sacred music!

+JMJ+

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

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Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 15, 2020

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About Patrick Torsell

Patrick Torsell is a staff substitute organist at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, CO, and associate organist at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (FSSP), Littleton, CO—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
    This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
    Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.
    —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

“Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another… It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. […] Men may go to Protestant Churches and to Catholic, may get good from both and belong to neither.”

— Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman (May of 1879)

Recent Posts

  • Is this what the new “Youth Mass” looks like?
  • “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
  • Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
  • Installment #3 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

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