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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

Why Did You Become a Church Musician?

Jeff Ostrowski · August 17, 2023

FTER A FULL DAY of being tortured, burned alive, having their fingers sawn-off, and being relentlessly bitten by mosquitos on countless (putrefied) wounds, Father Isaac Jogues and his companions were not left in peace. That’s because at night, the Iroquois fastened their wrists to the ground—and all through the night, the Iroquois children would place burning coals on their bodies and giggle with glee when the French captives could not shake them off. When Father Jogues’ thumb was cut off, he picked it up and (we learn from his later writings) did something amazing: “I presented it to Thee, O my God, in remembrance of the sacrifices which for the last seven years I had offered on the altars of Thy Church and as an atonement for the want of love and reverence of which I have been guilty in touching Thy Sacred Body.” If Father Jogues felt thus, what possible hope is there for us?

How Dare We? • Time and again—whenever I enter a church—I ask myself: “How dare I step into the presence of He Who created both heaven and earth? How is it possible that I can stand a few feet from the self-same God who created the entire universe?” While offering Mass, Saint John Mary Vianney (†1859) was amazed at the Holy Eucharist. Handling the SANCTISSIMUM during Mass, he sometimes thought to himself: “When I move to the left, my God moves to the left, and when I move to the right, my God moves to the right. How is such a thing possible?”

Why Did You Choose Music? • I would be interested to know why readers chose the vocation of “church musician.” Our sufferings cannot be compared to what Father Jogues and his companions went through. At the same time, I believe church musicians who attempt to do what Vatican II demanded experience constant suffering. Remember, the Second Vatican Council solemnly declared: “The treasury of sacred music [THESAURUS MUSICAE SACRAE] is to be preserved and fostered with great care.” How easy it would be for us to hop on the 1970s bandwagon which pretends that “preserve and foster with great care” actually means: “denigrate, ignore, and outlaw.” I know others—not just myself—suffer, because I constantly hear from people all over the world who are treated with injustice. Musicians tend to be sensitive (melancholic), and injustice weighs upon us … sometimes for decades.

Why Jeff Chose Church Music • What’s the fundamental reason I went into the field of sacred music? It was because the music sung in Catholic churches when I was growing up (the 1980s and 1990s) was extremely goofy, disrespectful, and sounded like Broadway mixed with a toothpaste commercial. This still continues! OREGON CATHOLIC PRESS recently published a Mass setting based on a 1985 movie starring Michael J. Fox called BACK TO THE FUTURE. Another large Catholic publishing company recently published a Mass setting based on a television show called MY LITTLE PONY. When I was growing up, our (affluent) local parish routinely sang “hymns” which spoke of butterflies, gathering, and Buddha. The lyrics approached heresy or formally espoused heresy. I said to myself (and still believe): “If we truly believe what the Catholic Church teaches regarding the holy Eucharist, we would never sing songs like that.” To me, this cognitive dissonance seemed tragic and nefarious. That’s why I got into the field of sacred music.

Eucharistic Hymn (1 of 2) • The Brébeuf Hymnal contains more Eucharistic hymns than any other Catholic hymnal (and it’s not even close). A particularly striking example is an English translation of an ancient Eucharistic text by Archbishop Bagshaw. Consider its third verse:

Upon the Cross the Deity was hid,
But here His Human Nature lies concealed,
Yet, both believing, that I supplicate,
For which the Thief from off his cross appealed.

Did you catch that? It’s basically saying that JESUS CHRIST looked like a human being, but was actually God. The Holy Eucharist takes matters a step further, because our Lord’s human nature is hidden as well. We usually sing this Eucharistic Hymn in SATB, but since our volunteer choir is currently taking summer break, a few ladies volunteered to sing Mass last Sunday:

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

Eucharistic Hymn (2 of 2) • Another Eucharistic hymn found in the Brébeuf Hymnal is “Pange Lingua” by Saint Thomas Aquinas (†1274). In the Gospel we find an important prayer: “O Lord, I do believe. Help Thou my unbelief” (Mk 9:23). The fourth verse seems to echo that Gospel verse:

4. The Word who is flesh, makes true bread
to be flesh through his word,
and wine becomes the blood of Christ,
and if sense fails,
faith by itself is enough
to assure the guileless heart.

The haunting melody begins with an ascending perfect fifth, and sometimes the ladies who volunteered to sing last Sunday are slightly under the pitch for a fraction of a second. But I still think they did really well:

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

Short On Time? • One reason I consider the Brébeuf Hymnal absolutely essential for the conscientious choirmaster is its brilliant, innovative, and powerful strategy when it comes to shared melodies (a.k.a. “common hymn tunes”). The simple reality is, there’s never enough rehearsal time. If you listen to the following hymns, I think you’ll understand what shared melodies are all about

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Common Hymn Melodies, Father Isaac Jogues, Heretical GIA Hymns, Simple Eucharistic Hymn, Thesaurus musicae sacrae Last Updated: August 17, 2023

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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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President’s Corner

    PDF Comparison Chart • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
    EARS BEFORE truly revolutionary changes were introduced by the post-conciliar reformers, Evelyn Waugh wrote (on 16 August 1964) to John Cardinal Heenan: “I think that a vociferous minority has imposed itself on the hierarchy and made them believe that a popular demand existed where there was in fact not even a preference.” We ask the kind reader— indeed, we beg you—to realize that those of us born in the 1940s and 1950s had no cognizance of Roman activities during the 1960s and 1970s. We were concerned with making sure we had the day’s bus fare, graduating from high school, taking care of our siblings, learning a trade, getting a job, courting a spouse. We questioned neither the nuns nor the Church.1 Do not believe for one instant any of us were following the liturgical machinations of Cardinal Lercaro or Father Bugnini in real time. Setting The Stage • To never question or resist Church authorities is praiseworthy. On the other hand, when a scandalous situation persists for decades, it must be brought into focus. Our series will do precisely that as we discuss the Lectionary Scandal from a variety of angles. We don’t do this to attack the Catholic Church. Our goal is bringing to light what’s been going on, so it can be fixed once and for all. Our subject is extremely knotty and difficult to navigate. Its complexity helps explain why the situation has persisted for such a long time.2 But if we immediately get “into the weeds” we’ll lose our audience. Therefore, it seems better to jump right in. So today, we’ll explore the legality of selling these texts. A Word On Copyright • Suppose Susie modifies a paragraph by Edgar Allan Poe. That doesn’t mean ipso facto she can assert copyright on it. If Susie takes a picture of a Corvette and uses Photoshop to color the tires blue, that doesn’t mean she henceforth “owns” all Corvettes in America. But when it comes to Responsorial Psalm translations, certain parties have been asserting copyright over them, selling them for a profit, and bullying publishers vis-à-vis hymnals and missals. Increasingly, Catholics are asking whether these translations are truly under copyright—because they are identical (or substantially identical) to other translations.3 Example After Example • Our series will provide copious examples supporting our claims. Sometimes we’ll rely on the readership for assistance, because—as we’ve stressed—our subject’s history couldn’t be more convoluted. There are countless manuscripts (in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) we don’t have access to, so it would be foolish for us to claim that our observations are somehow the ‘final word’ on anything. Nevertheless, we demand accountability. Catholics in the pews are the ones who paid for all this. We demand to know who specifically made these decisions (which impact every English-speaking Catholic) and why specifically certain decisions were made. The Responsorial Psalms used in America are—broadly speaking—stolen from the hard work of others. In particular, they borrowed heavily from Father Cuthbert Lattey’s 1939 PSALTER TRANSLATION:
    *  PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART —We thank the CCW staff for technical assistance with this graph.
    Analysis • Although certain parties have been selling (!!!) that translation for decades, the chart demonstrates it’s not a candidate for copyright since it “borrows” or “steals” or “rearranges” so much material from other translations, especially the 1939 translation by Father Cuthbert Lattey. What this means in layman’s terms is that individuals have been selling a translation under false pretenses, a translation they don’t own (although they claim to). To make RESTITUTION, all that money will have to be returned. A few years ago, the head of ICEL gave a public speech in which he said they give some of “their” profits to the poor. While almsgiving is a good thing, it cannot justify theft. Our Constant Theme • Our series will be held together by one thread, which will be repeated constantly: “Who was responsible?” Since 1970, the conduct of those who made a profit by selling these sacred texts has been repugnant. Favoritism was shown toward certain entities—and we will document that with written proof. It is absolutely essential going forward that the faithful be told who is making these decisions. Moreover, vague justifications can no longer be accepted. If we’re told they are “making the translations better,” we must demand to know what specifically they’re doing and what specific criteria they’re following. Stay Tuned • If you’re wondering whether we’ll address the forthcoming (allegedly) Lectionary and the so-called ABBEY PSALMS AND CANTICLES, have no fear. We’ll have much to say about both. Please stay tuned. We believe this will end up being the longest series of articles ever submitted to Corpus Christi Watershed. To be continued. ROBERT O’NEILL Former associate of Monsignor Francis “Frank” P. Schmitt at Boys Town in Nebraska JAMES ARNOLD Formerly associated w/ King’s College, Cambridge A convert to the Catholic Church, and distant relative of J. H. Arnold MARIA B. Currently serves as a musician in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Those aware of the situation in her diocese won’t be surprised she chose to withhold her last name.
    1 Even if we’d been able to obtain Roman journals such as NOTITIAE, none of them contained English translations. But such an idea would never have occurred to a high school student or a college student growing up in the 1960s. 2 A number of shell corporations claim to own the various biblical translations mandated for Roman Catholics. They’ve made millions of dollars selling (!) these indulgenced texts. If time permits, we hope to enumerate these various shell corporations and explain: which texts they claim to own; how much they bring in each year; who runs them; and so forth. It would also be good to explore the morality of selling these indulgenced texts for a profit. Furthermore, for the last fifty years these organizations have employed several tactics to manipulate and bully others. If time permits, we will expose those tactics (including written examples). Some of us—who have been working on this problem for three decades—have amassed written documentation we’ll be sharing that demonstrates behavior at best “shady” and at worst criminal. 3 Again, we are not yet examining the morality of selling (!) indulgenced texts to Catholics mandated to use those same translations.
    —Guest Author
    “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

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

Had the Church never spoken on this matter, it would still be repugnant to our Catholic people’s sense of what is fit and proper in the holiest of places, that a priest should have to struggle through the prayers of the Holy Mass, because of such tunes as “Alice, where art thou?” the “Vacant Chair,” and others of more vulgar title, which, through the carelessness or bad judgment of organists, sometimes find their way into our choirs.

— Preface to a Roman Catholic Hymnal (1896)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Flor Peeters In A Weird Mood?
  • Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
  • Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser

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