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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

Archives for May 2023

Andrea Leal · May 16, 2023

Revealed! • Kevin Allen’s Setting of the “Confíteor Deo Omnipoténti” (SATB) for Compline

I find this melody hauntingly gorgeous.

Patrick Williams · May 15, 2023

Sacred Music Institute at Mount St. Mary’s, Cincinnati

July 19–21 Sacred Music Institute “Inheritors of Heaven: The Call to Eucharistic Worship”

Veronica Moreno · May 13, 2023

Terrific Pentecost Hymn You’ve Not Heard Before!

Certainly the most beautiful capital “Q” I’ve ever seen!

Jeff Ostrowski · May 11, 2023

PDF Download • Extremely Rare! Organ Accompaniment Book (165 pages)

Including an “added bonus” I discovered while researching Julius Bas (an Italian musicologist and organist).

Jeff Ostrowski · May 10, 2023

7 Suggestions • “Winning the Sacred Music Crusade”

If we truly believe what we say we believe, how can we allow goofy, off-Broadway, secular, casual music at Mass?

Jeff Ostrowski · May 9, 2023

Vespers Accompaniment Booklet

A VESPERS ACCOMPANIMENT BOOKLET (20 pages) for this coming Sunday—the 5th Sunday after Easter—can now be downloaded. Those who sing Vespers exactly as given in the ANTIPHONALE ROMANUM will notice that all five psalms for Eastertide are sung according to the exact same tone with the exact same differentiæ. Can someone explain why this is? […]

Dr. Lucas Tappan · May 7, 2023

Bricklayer

Dr. Lucas Tappan • “Open Letter to Discouraged Musicians”

I mentioned to my (much younger) assistant that certain battles I will no longer fight. She told me I was becoming bitter—but I can honestly say that isn’t the case.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 7, 2023

Symposium Booklet (330 Pages)

As of 6 May 2023, anyone who wishes to may download the COMPLETED BOOKLET (330 pages) which was created for participants of Sacred Music Symposium 2023. Those who were accepted to participate in this year’s conference will be presented with their own (hard-copy) printed version of this breathtaking booklet. The faculty this year includes Professor […]

Jeff Ostrowski · May 6, 2023

6 May 2023 • FEEDBACK

Examples of comments we recently received, from all over the globe:   (1) “The Byrd composition your student sung was certainly beautiful. I cannot say how thankful I am for all that CCWATERSHED does in the world of sacred music. The videos, and recorded audios and newsletters are wonderful and beautiful. When you said that […]

Jeff Ostrowski · May 6, 2023

PDF Download • “Brief Choral Alleluia” (Suitable for the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form)

Too many priests are ignorant of the glories of authentic sacred music.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 5, 2023

PDF Download • “Vespers Accompaniment Booklet” (Fifth Sunday after Easter) — 20 pages

To recruit, teach, inspire, and retain volunteer choir members is no easy task!

Jeff Ostrowski · May 4, 2023

Six (6) Pernicious Hymn Pairings

The current situation is heartbreaking.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 2, 2023

Should Chant Be Accompanied On The Organ?

As late as 1924, Dom Mocquereau mentioned Dom Desrocquettes “whose beautiful and discreet accompaniments I hear every day at Solesmes.”

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Pipe Organ “Answers” in Plainsong?
    In 2003, I copied a book by Félix Bélédin (d. 1895), who was titular organist—from 1841 to 1874—at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Lyon (France). In 2008, we scanned and uploaded the book to the Lalande Online Library. Nobody knows for sure when the book was published; some believe it first appeared in the 1840s. In any event, one who examines this excerpt, showing GLORIA IX might wonder why it says the organ answers in plainsong. However, the front of the book explains, telling the organist explicitly when to “respond in plainchant.” This is something called organ alternatim. Believe it or not, the pipe organ would take turns with the choir, playing certain texts instrumentally instead of having them sung. I’m not very well-versed in this—pardon the pun—but if memory serves, ORGAN ALTERNATIM was frowned upon by the time of Pope Saint Pius X. Nevertheless, French organists kept doing it, even after it was explicitly condemned as an abuse.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (5th Sunday of Lent)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 5th Sunday of Lent (22 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Traditionally, this Sunday was called ‘Passion’ Sunday. Starting in 1956, certain church leaders attempted rename both ‘Passion’ Sunday and ‘Palm’ Sunday—but it didn’t work. For example, Monsignor Frederick McManus tried to get people to call PALM SUNDAY “Second Passion Sunday”—but the faithful rejected that. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (Holy Thursday, 2026)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Holy Thursday, which is 2 April 2026. If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a more piercingly beautiful INTROIT, and I have come to absolutely love the SATB version of ‘Ubi cáritas’ we are singing (joined by our burgeoning children’s choir). I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026
    How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)
    I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”
    For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In chronological order, [Dom Pierre Combe] traces the Gregorian reform from its beginnings under Dom Guéranger in 1833, to the problems of the Vatican Commission on Sacred Music in the first decade of the 20th century. As one reads the topic headings and development of their content, one wonders how such an innocent and un-warlike subject such as Gregorian chant could have been the focal point of such an intense and continuing battle among scholars and churchmen for so many decades.”

— Dr. Theodore Marier (1968)

Recent Posts

  • From Sentiment to Sacrament: Reclaiming Sacred Music for the Wedding Mass
  • Pipe Organ “Answers” in Plainsong?
  • “Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026
  • “Versions of the Psalter” • Jeff Interviews Top Biblical Scholar: Dr. Mark Giszczak
  • PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

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