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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

“Exceeded Every Expectation!” • Mr. O’Brien’s Review

Jeff Ostrowski · June 29, 2022

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Y NAME IS BENJAMIN, and I’m a professional musician with a B.A. in Music Performance from the University of New Hampshire. I have served at a parish in New Hampshire for 10 years. I am now the Cathedral Organist & Choirmaster as well as the Diocesan Director of Sacred Music for the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan. I attended the Sacred Music Symposium 2022 … and was absolutely blown away.

What is it? All week long we took part in impressive educational talks, lectures, hands-on classes, rehearsals, etc. all relating to various aspects of the wealth of Catholic Sacred Music—be it Gregorian chant notation and style, pipe organ technique, improvisation, choral conducting technique, theology/philosophy behind liturgical music, practical tips for the professional church musician working with volunteers, and plenty of hands on experience rehearsing music you actually sing with others for Vespers and Mass during the week.

The culmination? Culminating in a glorious High Mass (at the end of the week), what we were able to experience as part of the choir providing the music for that liturgy was supremely beautiful, reverent, angelic, and prayerful. Truly a “taste of heaven,” to be honest. Every aspect of the liturgy lifted your mind and heart to God the Father, Creator of the universe, and His Son, Jesus Christ, who is our majestic King of Kings. This felt like what Mass was truly meant to be.

For whom? Whether coming from a liturgical background in the Ordinary Form or the Extraordinary Form, this Symposium helped “cover all the bases,” providing extremely helpful training that would apply to both forms in a mutually enriching educational process. I would HIGHLY recommend the Sacred Music Symposium to Catholic clergy, choir directors, organists, church accompanists, church choir members, and church cantors.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Sacred Music Symposium 2022 Last Updated: June 29, 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). 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 the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

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“There’s a world of difference between a thoughtful, wise Catholic and a bitter contrarian. In spite of what is claimed on certain blogs, being addicted to cable news and twitter does not make one an intellectual.”

— Jeff Ostrowski

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