Views from the Choir Loft

Live Recording (42 min) • “Vespers for the Sacred Heart”

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · June 14, 2020

RIDAY, June 19 is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. If anyone desires to sing Vespers on that evening, the wonderful video (below) will help tremendously. Recorded at last year’s Sacred Music Symposium, Richard J. Clark, Kevin Allen, and I led the Symposium Choir in the plainchants and hymns. Featured prominently are two beautiful pieces. The sublime opening hymn, “Blest Author of the World,” a composition by Mr. Clark, can be found in the Brébeuf hymnal #84. Please pay attention to the words of the hymn, which are quite beautiful, and Mr. Clark’s lovely melody is the perfect vehicle for them. The Recessional that night was Kevin Allen’s heartfelt motet, “Lead, Kindly Light,” a setting of a quite well-known text by St. John Henry Newman. Like all of Mr. Allen’s music, this is beautifully constructed, as each progression, dissonance, and cadence spring directly from the text. And while not an easy piece to sing, the choir did an amazing job! I had the privilege of conducting, among some other things, the polyphonic Magnificat for five voices by Francisco Guerrero (marker 27:22). Set in alternatim with plainchant verses, I find that this is one of the most effective and expressive ways to sing a Magnificat.

The Choir You Hear

A word about the Symposium Choir: as you listen, please remember that this is a completely volunteer group, many of them under the age of 30 (some in high school!), and that we are literally sight-reading everything except the Magnificat and the Allen motet. Before traveling to the Sacred Music Symposium, some participants had never sung in Latin—but we sure fixed that! You will hear, as the service progresses, how unisons become more and more refined and how subtlety finds its way into the psalmody. Many of these same singers have formed themselves into the new Brébeuf Virtual Choir. If there is any concern over the future of beautiful and true sacred music in the Church going forward, you may take great comfort in these young people of tremendous talent and faith whom you will hear on this 42-minute video. I miss them, and I can’t wait for next year’s Sacred Music Symposium!

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

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About Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Dr. Alfred Calabrese is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX. He and his wife have two children.—(Read full biography).

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

Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.

—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