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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

Guest Article by Mæstro Jerome Cole • Organist, Composer, and Choirmaster

Corpus Christi Watershed · October 19, 2023

M The following is a guest article by Mæstro Jerome Cole.
M To submit a guest article, follow these instructions.

T IS MY DISTINCT pleasure to write to you on the feast of Saint Noël Chabanel. I find it remarkable that your organization dedicated all of its projects to the North American Martyrs and only later on (!) discovered the Texas Secretary of State established you as a nonprofit organization on 19 October, the feast of the North American Martyrs! Ever since my arrival at Saint Joseph Parish [Mishawaka, Indiana] five years ago, I have striven to be faithful to the church’s directives on Sacred Music. I have had the blessing of inheriting a Gregorian Chant Schola Cantorum which was founded a year before I arrived by a parishioner who had learned from the monks at Saint Meinrad Archabbey many years ago, and had finally fulfilled his dream of founding a Schola at a parish. Last year, the Schola sang 4-5 of the full, Gregorian Propers from the GRADUALE ROMANUM at one of our weekend Novus Ordo Masses, and this year I wanted to push forward and do more.

My Mantra • The purpose of sacred music at Mass is the glorification of God and the edification of the faithful, and it is my “mantra” that music at Mass should help reveal the face of God to us so that we might contemplate Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist. One way to do this is to add polyphony to the Mass, to, as the church documents say over and over, add greater solemnity to the liturgy.

Saint Noël Chabanel • This past October 1st, my Gregorian Chant Schola added something very simple: the Kyrie polyphonic extension from Jeff Ostrowski’s new Saint Noël Chabanel Mass Setting. This simple piece of polyphony allowed for a deeper contemplation of God at Mass, and was eminently practical for our small Schola. Doing beautiful sacred music such as this would not be possible without the support of my pastor, FATHER CHRISTOPHER LAPP, who has been a constant friend to—and promoter of—authentic sacred music.

Surprise Homily • On 1 October 2023, when we sang the polyphonic extension from the Saint Noël Chabanel Mass, Father Chris wove an explanation of the purpose of polyphonic music into his homily—ad libbing, I believe—explaining that the repeated “Kyrie Eleison” of the polyphony was a repeated cry of “Lord Have Mercy” which allowed us to meditate on the mercy of God, forgiveness, and conversion (which were the themes of his homily). The Father Noël Chabanel extension was the perfect little piece of polyphony to add to our chanted Mass at our midwestern parish to give greater glory to God, allow for the sanctification of the faithful, and reveal the face of God fully present Body, Blood, soul and Divinity in the Eucharist.

JEROME COLE serves as director of Sacred Music at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Mishawaka, Indiana. Jerome Cole’s passion lies in performing and teaching the sacred music treasury of the Church. Jerome’s professional accomplishments include the renewal of sacred music at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Mishawaka where he has emphasized beautiful hymnody, English and Latin chant, polyphony for the adult choir, Gregorian chant for the Schola Cantorum, and orthodox hymns and traditional anthems for the children’s choir. He is a founding teacher at the Saint Thomas More Academy of South Bend, implementing the Ward method and studies in music history and counterpoint. His professional interests lie in the organ music of the Baroque, the choral music of the Renaissance, and the sacred music of Gregorian chant, especially in teaching chant and polyphony to amateur musicians. He earned his Master’s degree in Organ Performance from the world-renowned INDIANA UNIVERSITY JACOBS SCHOOL OF MUSIC, studying under Dr. Christopher Young. His Bachelor’s degree in Music (Concentrations in Sacred Music and Organ) is from Ave Maria University, studying under Dr. Timothy McDonnell, Dr. Susan Treacy, and Dr. Brice Gerlach. Jerome is founder of the Saint Hildegard Project, a non-profit dedicated to the renewal and passing on of the Church’s tradition of sacred music through teaching and performance.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Dr Susan Treacy Catholic, Dr Timothy McDonnell Conductor, Indiana, St Joseph Parish Mishawaka Last Updated: April 26, 2025

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR shamefully granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Holy Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand while it’s sung … even though everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia. Furthermore, imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Kids’ Choir Sings Thomas Aquinas
    Last Sunday, a children’s choir I’m teaching sang with us for the very first time at Sunday Mass. Females from our main choir sang along with them. If you’re curious to hear how they sounded, you can listen to a ‘live’ recording. That’s an English version of TANTUM ERGO by Saint Thomas Aquinas. That haunting melody is called GAUFESTRE and was employed for this 2-Voice Arrangement of a special hymn for 9 November (“Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome”) which replaces a Sunday this year.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Reminder” — Month of September (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Each of our sins was one more thorn in our Lord’s crown; one blow the more to His scourging.”

— Cardinal Merry Del Val (shortly before his death)

Recent Posts

  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
  • Involving Women in the Communion?
  • “Toward a More Sacred Style With Pastoral Charity” • Guest Article by Dr. Myrna Keough
  • “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Kids’ Choir Sings Thomas Aquinas

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