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Views from the Choir Loft

Palestrina Would Not Recognize This! • (Plus: Hopeful Signs)

Jeff Ostrowski · October 2, 2023

HE HOLY MARTYRS of North America were Jesuits who had their nails bitten off, their fingers sawn off, their tongues cut out, and were roasted (slowly) over fires for months. In spite of all that, their desire to suffer for JESUS CHRIST could not be satiated. In one incident, Father Isaac Jogues (d. 1646) knelt at the side of René Goupil, who was bleeding profusely from his wounds. “Dearest brother,” he said, “God has acted strangely toward us. But He is the Lord and the Master. What is good in His eyes, that He has done. As it has pleased Him, so be it. Blessed is His Holy Name forever.”

“God Has Acted Strangely” • In a certain sense, God has acted “strangely” in our day. Powerful clerics have attempted to forbid the Sacrifice of Calvary (!) from being celebrated inside a parish church. On the other hand, Canon Law (932 §1) stipulates: “The eucharistic celebration is to be carried out in a sacred place.” And yet, the following concert (see below) was allowed to take place in a church! Who can make sense of this?

A Different Type Of Jesuit • On 21 September 2023, composers Dan Schutte, Father Roc O’Connor (SJ), and Father Bob Dufford (SJ) joined together at Old Saint Patrick’s Church in Chicago for a concert called: “Sing to the Mountains!” The men stood in the Sanctuary of the church. A crowd of middle-aged and elderly people in the audience sang songs like Be Not Afraid, Sing to the Mountains, and Here I Am, Lord. Many consider those ditties to be a mixture of Broadway and folk—i.e. not suitable for Mass. Pictures from the event:

Palestrina Aghast! • Masters such as Palestrina (who died in the arms of Saint Philip Neri), Guerrero, Lassus, Byrd, Marenzio, Morales, Jacobus Händl, Zachariis, Bernabei, Nanino, Croce, Zoilo, Clemens Non Papa, Gabrieli, Josquin, Ingegneri, and Victoria wrote music of incomparable excellence for the sacred liturgy. Their compositions have never been surpassed. The purity of their melodies, the timelessness of their harmonies, and their utter command of counterpoint boggles the mind even today. Suppose you invented a time-machine to zip back to the 16th century. Suppose you showed them elderly men standing in the SANCTUARY playing secular instruments. What would they have thought?

The Bible • In the Gospel of Saint Matthew, we read: “Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh.” Perhaps we could do a better job shining the light on scandals. It seems like the same mistakes are made over and over again. For instance, my colleague ANDREA LEAL recently posted a video from a major Catholic publisher. I’m not going to repeat everything Andrea already said, but I would note the USCCB had previously given exclusive rights over the psalter to a private, non-Catholic company. Jeffrey Tucker of the CMAA found out about this and attempted to sound the alarm, but very few listened. (Dr. Jerry Galipeau was an exception, and it reflects well on him.) Recently, it was announced that ICEL has given exclusive rights (!) to sell the new LITURGY OF THE HOURS hymns to that same company! That company’s president declared on 30 September 2016:

“I’ve had the honor to work with these three wonderful people [Marty Haugen, Michael Joncas, and David Haas] for more than 30 years, and I can’t overestimate the profound impact that they’ve all had for me personally, for everyone at GIA Publications, and for the worshiping church at large.”

Déjà Vu • Why was that non-Catholic company given exclusive rights to sell (!) the hymns of the LITURGY OF THE HOURS? Do we really want a company that has been “profoundly impacted” by David Haas “for more than 30 years” to have exclusive rights to sell prayers that Catholic priests are required to say each day?

Signs Of Hope • Some claim that efforts to strangle and persecute Catholics desirous of traditional worship and orthodox teachings demonstrate that certain clerics in power deeply fear the groundswell. Si habuerítis fidem sicut granum sinápis, dicétis monti huic: Transi hinc illuc, et transibit, et nihil impossíbile erit vobis. Let’s pray that our leaders respond to what Pope Saint John Paul II called the “legitimate aspirations” of the People of God. Young Catholics especially appreciate and love the MISSALE VETUSTUM. Indeed, I didn’t see a single young person in any of the pictures of their audience. Not a single one. Am I wrong?

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Arthur Cardinal Roche, Dan Schutte Mass of Christ the Savior, Missale Vetustum Last Updated: October 3, 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

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

“We have baptized about 240 this year … All the labors of a million persons—would they not be worthwhile if they gained one single soul for Jesus Christ?”

— Father Isaac Jogues, writing to his mother

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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