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Corpus Christi Watershed

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Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for May 2022

Jeff Ostrowski · May 19, 2022

“Gregorian Chant Not In Danger Pope Tells French”

Actual headline from 9 April 1964.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 18, 2022

PDF Download • “O Salutaris” (Modern Setting)

If there’s a more beautiful setting of this text, I don’t know what it could be.

Fr. David Friel · May 17, 2022

Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2022

Study the Ward Method this summer in Washington, DC.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 17, 2022

PDF Download • 2022 “Vespers Booklet” (99 Pages)

If you spot typos, please let us know!

Jeff Ostrowski · May 16, 2022

“Playing the Pipe Organ” • By Richard Nixon

Does the music of Franz Liszt belong to Adolf Hitler?

Jeff Ostrowski · May 16, 2022

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that […]

Richard J. Clark · May 15, 2022

Prayer of Abandonment,  Saint Charles de Foucauld

This will be sung at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome and at the Basilica of Saint Francis Assisi.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 14, 2022

Worst Chanting I’ve Ever Heard

The Supreme Court has been in the news lately.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 14, 2022

14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

Jeff Ostrowski · May 14, 2022

14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

Daniel Tucker · May 13, 2022

Musician-Saints Throughout the Ages

Short biographical sketches of men and women who were church musicians themselves and who can empathize with the joys and struggles of our profession.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 10, 2022

“Big Reveal” by the Symposium Committee

We are so pleased to welcome this priest!

Corpus Christi Watershed · May 9, 2022

Quote: “A weekend our choir will not soon forget!”

St. Mary’s: “Our singers experienced an incredible weekend working with Mr. Kevin Allen, the world-renowned composer.”

Dr. Charles Weaver · May 7, 2022

A Curious Rhythmic Detail in Tomorrow’s Jubilus

Occasionally the Solesmes rhythmic markings are surprising, as in one of tomorrow’s alleluias. Can we make sense of this?

Jeff Ostrowski · May 7, 2022

“Yes or No?” • Thoughts On Singing The Creed

If his choir sounds terrible, why would you trust his advice?

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“Ordained a diocesan priest on 7 October 1827, Guéranger was quickly named a canon (a member of the cathedral chapter of Tours). Around 1830, he demonstrated his interest in the liturgy when he began to use the Roman Missal and texts for the Divine Office, unlike many of his colleagues, who still made use of the diocesan editions commonly in use in pre-Revolutionary France.”

— Source unknown

Recent Posts

  • 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “My First Year with the Latin Mass” • A Music Director’s Perspective
  • Boston Auxiliary Bishop: “In offering the Traditional Mass for the first time, after removing the vestments, I knelt in the back pew and wept.”
  • Now Available! • “Hymns of Cardinal Newman: Kevin Allen’s Legendary Choral Settings”
  • Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

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