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Views from the Choir Loft

“From a Recent Convert” • Symposium Review

Corpus Christi Watershed · August 1, 2022

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FIRST HEARD about the Sacred Music Symposium in early 2021, at a time when many events were still suspended owing to Covid-19. After stumbling across a testimony from a participant on the Corpus Christi Watershed website, I was immediately intrigued. I made a promise to myself that as soon as Covid-19 relented enough to allow this event to take place, I would attend. In my heart, I knew how beautiful and awesome an experience it would be for me as a musician.

Spontaneous Tears: Even though I “knew” what I was in for, I was nevertheless overwhelmed by the ethereal and transcendent moments. (I was not prepared for the tears that spontaneously began streaming down my face during Vespers one evening.) As a recent convert to the Faith, the Symposium exposed the beauty of the Mass in a new light, and highlighted the importance of authentic church music.

My Father’s Death: The Symposium was a faith-deepening experience. My dad had passed away the previous week, and the Symposium brought me closer to God at a time when I needed it the most. It also united me with fellow Catholics through music and the sacred liturgy.

The Greatest Week: I would recommend this conference without hesitation. It was one of the greatest weeks of my life. I made friends and connections that will last a lifetime, and was moved to tears by the presence of the Holy Ghost among us in that beautiful church. I was inspired by the holy people surrounding me, both clergy and lay. I was blown away by the talent, brilliance, enthusiasm, and intellect of the presenters and directors. From them, I learned an immeasurable amount of information about chant and polyphony, as well as church history in relation to liturgical music.

What More Could One Ask? Truly, what more could one ask for out of a conference this side of heaven? Many thanks to Mr. Ostrowski, Mrs. Leal, the priests of Saint Vitus, and all the presenters and directors. It was truly the experience of a lifetime!

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: August 1, 2022

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President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“Even after 1600 A.D.—despite major changes in musical taste—the compositions of Father Cristóbal de Morales were reprinted at Venice. Indeed, and as late as 1619 A.D. one Venetian publisher found his magnificats still in sufficient demand to make a profitable commercial venture out of issuing a new transcribed version for equal voices.”

— Dr. Robert Murrell Stevenson (d. 2012)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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