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Views from the Choir Loft

Clarion Call To All Choirmasters! • (26 Sept.)

Jeff Ostrowski · September 19, 2021

ICHARD NIXON COMBED his hair the opposite way growing up because as a child he sustained a head injury falling from a horse-drawn buggy. You heard me correctly: Richard Nixon—a man who would live to see the moon landing, the fall of the Soviet Union, and even the advent of the internet (before his death in 1994)—could remember pre-automobile days. This is a reminder to us: “Truth is stranger than fiction.”

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction: What will future generations think when they consider our age? Vatican II said “choirs must be diligently promoted” (SC §114), yet virtually none of the spirit of Vatican II parishes promote choirs—instead, they have a single cantor with a microphone. Vatican II said Vespers should be “celebrated in common in church on Sundays and the more solemn feasts” (SC §100), yet the spirit of Vatican II parishes ignore that. Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “should be given pride of place in liturgical services” (SC §116) with special emphasis on polyphony and organ music, yet most spirit of Vatican II parishes promote goofy, secular, undignified songs. Vatican II said the Latin language must be preserved in the Latin rites; yet we know what has happened. The list goes on and on. The strange thing is, my parish (which is “Extraordinary Form”) is doing all the things Vatican II wanted!

Injustice Is Real: I suspect anyone who has ever tried to be a faithful Catholic choir director in today’s environment has suffered hardships and injustices. Each of us could probably “write a book” about such experiences. In the United States, it has been particularly painful to observe how the USCCB gives special advantages to composers who (publicly) lead immoral lives and deny Church teaching on various issues.

Mass in a Barn: It is helpful to consider the life of Father Adrian Fortescue, the preëminent scholar of his time. The word “polymath” does not begin to describe this man, who earned three doctorates and was a specialist in a fantastic amount of sundry fields. Fortescue could have had a brilliant career as an Anglican, which is the state-sponsored religion in England (meaning Anglicans have access to luxurious benefices, huge churches, and choirs paid for by the secular state). But Fortescue was only interested in the church founded by Christ—viz. the Catholic Church—therefore he accepted miserable conditions. When he first arrived at his parish, there was no church, so he had to offer Mass in a barn until a church could be built.

Only One Thing: Fortescue also died young—which from a worldly perspective seems such a “waste” of all that education—yet faithful Catholics realize that our time on earth is like “the blink of an eye” and only one thing is necessary (Lk 10:42). Indeed, people who have everything quickly find out that worldly joys do not endure, and many end up committing suicide: Elvis Presley, Robin Williams, Kurt Cobain, Anthony Bourdain, Michael Jackson, and so forth. Shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer, Fortescue put the parish papers in order for his successor, preached his last homily (“Christ our Friend and Comforter”), and entered his little church for a long and final farewell. Fortescue’s biographer says: “He was seen to kiss fervently the altar on which he had so often offered the Holy Sacrifice, about which he had written so profoundly.”

Patron Saints: Catholic church musicians know what it is like to face serious obstacles year after year. I would suggest that the very best patrons we can have are the Jesuit Martyrs, who are the patron saints of North America (Patróni Sáncti Boreális Américae). I say this because these brave men left the most civilized country in Europe to bring the Catholic Faith to the people of the New World, and experienced daily hardships beyond anything we could possibly imagine. Their bravery and faith in JESUS CHRIST was truly heroic—and they remained joyful despite very heavy (daily) crosses. Their EF feast-day is 26 September; their OF feast-day is 19 October. Here is a very brief chart which gives an “overview” of each Martyr:

*  PDF Download • EXPLANATION CHART
—Explaining how each martyr was murdered.

Below, you will find images of each martyr.

59101-Isaac-Jogues-nn78921-IMAGE
59102-Father-Isaac-Jogues-IMAGE
59098-Saint-Isaac-Jogues-nn65038-picture
59097-Isaac-Jogues
59099-Father-Isaac-Jogues-IMAGE
59103-Saint-Isaac-Jogues-Stained-Glass
59100-Saint-Isaac-Jogues-Stained-Glass
STAINED-GLASS CANADA SAINTS

Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
59076-Father-Jean-de-Brebeuf-MARTYR
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Saint Jean de Brébeuf

59083-Saint-Rene-Goupil
59081-Saint-Rene-Goupil
59084-Saint-Rene-Goupil
59086-Saint-Rene-Goupil
59085-Saint-Rene-Goupil
59087-Saint-Rene-Goupil

59072-SAINT-GABRIEL-LALEMANT-Martyr-Image
59073-SAINT-GABRIEL-LALEMANT-Martyr-Image
59071-SAINT-GABRIEL-LALEMANT-Martyr-CATHOLIC

59105-Father-Antoine-Daniel-400
59105-Father-Antoine-Daniel-600
59105-Father-Antoine-Daniel-200

59088-Father-Noel-Chabanel-Catholic-Martyr
59090-Father-Noel-Chabanel-Catholic-Martyr
59089-Father-Noel-Chabanel-Catholic-Martyr

59094-Saint-Jean-de-Lalande-stained-glass
59096-Saint-John-Lalande
59095-Saint-Jean-de-Lalande

59092-Father-Charles-Garnier-Catholic-Martyr
59093-Father-Charles-Garnier-Catholic-Martyr
59091-Father-Charles-Garnier-Catholic-Martyr

Some pictures with all the (canonized) Martyrs of North America together:

59067-JESUIT-Martyrs-of-North-America
59066-JESUIT-Martyrs-of-North-America
59068-JESUIT-Martyrs-of-North-America
59062-Saint-Isaac-Jogues-Jean-Brebeuf-Martyrs
59063-Saint-Isaac-Jogues-Jean-Brebeuf-Martyrs

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

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Congregation Singing Vespers, Father Isaac Jogues, Father Noel Chabanel, Jesuit Martyrs of North America, Richard Nixon, Saint Antoine Daniel, Saint Charles Garnier, Saint Gabriel Lalemant, Saint John Brebeuf, Saint Rene Goupil, Watergate Scandal Last Updated: September 25, 2023

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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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

Thus in 1905 the Vatican Kyriale appeared with rhythmic signs and the following legend: “Præsens exemplar, rhythmicis signis a Solesmensibus monachis ornatum, typicae Vaticanæ editioni de cætero plane conforme repertum est.” (This copy, provided with rhythmic signs by the monks of Solesmes, completely agrees in every other respect with the Vatican original.)

— Dom Gregory Hügle, OSB

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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