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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I have a great quarrel on with Dom Mocquereau over a very stiff book of his which we have translated & which a stupid American woman wants to be adapted to her understanding & terminology. It will be a little difficult to persuade the dear old man, for the lady is going to pay the piper. Truly money is at the root of all evils!”

— Dame Laurentia (talking about Justine Ward)

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