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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

PDF Download • “O Salutaris” (Modern Setting)

Jeff Ostrowski · May 18, 2022

HOSE OF YOU who are grandparents realize something odd occurs when a child gets married. The grandparents watch the children make mistakes. They know better—but they must not criticize. They must fight the urge to tell the young couple how to run their lives. Even when they already know the child is going to make a mistake, they must be careful in giving advice—because the child must learn his own lessons. This is a heavy cross for some grandparents. (The urge to nitpick and micromanage can be overwhelming.) But unsolicited advice can garner resentment.

The Wisdom Of Experience: When one matures as a musician, one realizes it is wrong to only sing one style of music at Mass. Now, it’s true that Renaissance music is probably the most perfect music ever composed—especially when it’s based on plainsong. Nevertheless (as we have mentioned many times in the past) one should sing a variety of music at Mass. But I don’t argue over this with young musicians; they must learn this truth for themselves. As much as I love Renaissance polyphony, my choral program (made up of volunteers from the parish) could not exist without the elegant-yet-simple melodies in the Brébeuf hymnal.

A Musical Gem: When it comes to contemporary music, I find much of it lacking in depth. After all, music shouldn’t just consist of “sounds”—it should have depth. However, every once in a blue moon one finds a contemporary piece which is stunning and irresistibly gorgeous. That is certainly the case with O Salutaris Hostia by Canon Jules Van Nuffel. I can’t wait to hear how this sounds in June! It’s being sung at Sacred Music Symposium 2022.

M Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #53732 .

Sadness: Most readers won’t click on the individual voice parts, and that makes me sad. When we post a “scandalous” liturgical video, we get 40,000 views. I wish we could get as many views for the rehearsal videos—we must revive authentic sacred music!

Here’s a photograph of Father Van Nuffel conducting:

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Bishop Fulton J Sheen, Canon Jules Van Nuffel d 1953, Latin Mass Musical Diversity, O Salutaris Hostia Last Updated: May 20, 2022

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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

    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

Random Quote

“Urban VIII appointed four Jesuits to reform the hymns, so that they should no longer offend Renaissance ears. These four, in that faithful obedience to the Holy See which is the glory of their Society, with a patient care that one cannot help admiring, set to work to destroy every hymn in the office.”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (1916)

Recent Posts

  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations
  • PDF Download • “Marian Antiphon Booklet” (4 pages) + Five Rhythmic Considerations

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