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Views from the Choir Loft

“Glad Trad” vs. “Rad Trad”

Jeff Ostrowski · March 20, 2021

COTT HAHN recently made a distinction between “glad trads” and “rad trads.” Perhaps someday I will have an opportunity to comment on that, although I’m not sure anyone cares how I feel. For the moment I can only say—from personal experience—that many of the Rad Trads have faded away, while the Glad Trads have grown exponentially since my family began attending the Traditional Latin Mass in the early 1990s. Nevertheless, Rad Trad authors still exist on the internet, and some of them are extremely ferocious and dangerous. 1 They harm the Catholic Church very much.

When Father Isaac Jogues became a willing captive of the Iroquois, he underwent suffering and humiliation too terrible for words. Some of the experiences he endured were rather strange. For instance, he was kept in a tiny room—without clean drinking water—in the scorching summer heat. For months he sat there, in extreme pain, reading the Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis over and over again. This ordeal was somewhat strange; he was alone, dressed in lay clothing, missing several fingers, probably very bored. On a much smaller scale, we in 2021 are called to do something strange. We must avoid reading the ravings of Rad Trads. We must never respond to them or acknowledge them, because they crave attention and “clicks.”

An Example: An ex-parishioner has spent the last few years spreading nasty rumors about my parish and our FSSP priests. He attacks us because we have Mass in a tent. (We have thousands of parishioners and can’t squeeze in our tiny little church—that’s why we’re trying to raise money to build a new church and we’ve already raised 3 million dollars.)

This malicious numbskull claims that our Masses are “invalid” because they happen underneath a tent. He calls our Masses “tent-revivals.” But check out this manuscript from the 14th century:

It looks like our church! Even though we have six Masses each Sunday, we just can’t fit all the people who want to attend.

Trusting In God: We will get a church in God’s good time. It’s not for us to question why God allows certain things to happen. Over the last year, our government has printed trillions of dollars—and I know people who have gotten rich off “Covid relief” in a very dishonest way. But Our Lord has asked: For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I know several who are cowardly hypocrites who live in an alternate reality…but that’s another story for another day!

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Latin Mass, Traditional Latin Mass Last Updated: March 20, 2021

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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

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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

“The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceedingly swift and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat.”

— ‘Dr. Domingos Pinto Coelho, noted lawyer from Lisbon and chairman of the Bar Association (1917)’

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