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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

Seven Solutions • “Getting Catholics Singing Again”

Jeff Ostrowski · October 13, 2021

UMAN BEINGS are experts at blaming others. We love to say: “Until priests are willing to pay musicians a decent wage, nothing will improve.” We love to say: “Until priests grasp how hard musicians work—and begin to truly care for us—nothing will improve.” We love to say: “The big publishers have committed atrocities, and nobody is strong enough to oppose them.” I am certainly guilty of (sometimes) falling into such negative thinking.

1. Blaming Others: Catholic priests are not wholly to blame for the current state of Church music. I know choirmasters who believe they “know everything” about sacred music; yet what they actually produce is ghastly. They blame everyone else for failing to love Gregorian chant, which they sing in a slow, heavy, boring manner. They blame others for not appreciating sacred polyphony; yet their choirs sing polyphony with very little finesse, and (too often) with only one singer on each part—which is not optimal.1 One of the biggest obstacles we face is musicians incapable of knowing what sounds good. Some are too lazy (or scared) to make recordings of their choirs singing—but that’s the very best way to improve.

2. Moving Forward: I believe that 99% of Catholic priests have never experienced the power of a decent choir. Hearing a recording is not the same; you must experience a choir singing in real life. And the music must be chosen correctly, similar to what an expert filmmaker does. The filmmaker is brought footage about five hours long; then he proceeds to cut, revise, and rearrange the material until it’s only about two hours long—taking only what is most excellent. The Mass has a certain “flow” to it, and the music must fit perfectly. A good director learns where “bright” music belongs, where “serious” music belongs, where hymns belong, where plainsong belongs, where contemporary motets belong, where accompanied plainsong belongs, where congregational singing belongs, and so forth.

3. Practical Advice: Getting Catholics to sing correctly is excruciatingly hard work. It requires persistence, and knowledge of “how to deal with people.” When we study at the conservatory, we are around hundreds of professional musicians; but when we walk into a Catholic parish, the situation is quite different. You are taking your choir members on a musical and theological journey, and some will not persevere (for various reasons). Be prepared to encounter what might be called “trashy” people, who will promise you the world…yet constantly skip rehearsals, show up late, complain, make demands, and poison the environment with a bad attitude. You must learn to address these situations without becoming bitter or discouraged. Since I was in grade school, I spent hours each day memorizing concert works by Chopin, Schumann, Bach, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Debussy and others—but such studies don’t develop “people skills.”

4. A Key Component: You must never feed your choristers “garbage music.” I am talking about melodies which are goofy, uninspired, kooky, predictable, silly, or written by someone with no musical skills. Also, you must never feed your choristers lyrics which are not theologically sound. The best source of hymnody is the Brébeuf hymnal, because it contains absolutely no garbage. Indeed, no hymnal currently available comes close to the excellence of The Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS, 2018).

5. Lofty Language: You should also make sure to “elevate the occasion” by choosing hymns with elegant language. Consider this English translation of “Aeterna Caeli Gloria” by Monsignor Ronald A. Knox (a renowned theologian and one of the world’s great linguists). It was said that Knox wrote Latin poetry on the level of Virgil himself—but Knox was also a master of Greek, Hebrew, French, German, Italian, and many other languages. The footnote in the Brébeuf hymnal says that the “Star” in the following hymn refers to our Redeemer, JESUS CHRIST:

6. Adding Voices: In that recording, we began with Sopranos, then added Altos, then added Tenors, then added Basses. That is one of the common melodies found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal which I have recommended so frequently. But when the choir does a “less familiar” tune, it’s good to balance it out with a “more familiar” tune—such as the melody below (GOTT VATER SEI GEPRIESEN). In this live recording, we sing the verses in unison and use SATB for the refrain:

7. Variety Variety Variety: Needless to say, we don’t just sing hymns. We sing tons of polyphony, plainsong, contemporary motets, and so forth. We even do a nifty little “drone” piece, based on Gloria IX…and you can hear how that sounds. Below you can hear our attempt—recorded last Sunday—to sing a spectacular KYRIE ELEISON by Father Francisco Guerrero (based on Kyrie IX):

Flaws Are Okay: I’m sure our readers could point out flaws in that recording, but that’s okay. Father Valentine Young used to say: “You can play 1,000 correct notes on the organ and one false note, and some people will talk about the false note.” None of these singers are paid, and several of them struggled to match pitch until they began singing in the choir; I’m so proud of their improvement! What I’d really like to do is bring in an expert conductor like Dr. Alfred Calabrese and have him work with our singers, because Dr. Calabrese somehow helps singers produce the most flowing, musical, beautiful choral lines.

Regarding that KYRIE ELEISON by Father Guerrero, feel free to download the score.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   For instance, the Sistine Chapel is not a large building, but the Sistine Chapel had between 24 and 36 singers during the 16th century. Until you have a minimum of three voices per part, according to Dr. James Daugherty, you don’t have a choral sound—because if there are just two voices on a part, one voice will always dominate the other.

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

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Common Hymn Melodies, Francisco Guerrero Composer, Monsignor Ronald Knox Traditional Mass Last Updated: October 14, 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In chronological order, [Dom Pierre Combe] traces the Gregorian reform from its beginnings under Dom Guéranger in 1833, to the problems of the Vatican Commission on Sacred Music in the first decade of the 20th century. As one reads the topic headings and development of their content, one wonders how such an innocent and un-warlike subject such as Gregorian chant could have been the focal point of such an intense and continuing battle among scholars and churchmen for so many decades.”

— Dr. Theodore Marier (1968)

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