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Corpus Christi Watershed

Jesus said to them: “I have come into this world so that a sentence may fall upon it, that those who are blind should see, and those who see should become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty. It is because you protest, ‘We can see clearly,’ that you cannot be rid of your guilt.”

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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

    “Music List” • 5th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 5th Sunday of Easter (18 May 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. The Communion Antiphon was ‘restored’ the 1970 Missale Romanum (a.k.a. MISSALE RECENS) from an obscure martyr’s feast. Our choir is on break this Sunday, so the selections are relatively simple in nature.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion Chant (5th Sunday of Easter)
    This coming Sunday—18 May 2025—is the 5th Sunday of Easter, Year C (MISSALE RECENS). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON “Ego Sum Vitis Vera” assigned by the Church is rather interesting, because it comes from a rare martyr’s feast: viz. Saint Vitalis of Milan. It was never part of the EDITIO VATICANA, which is the still the Church’s official edition. As a result, the musical notation had to be printed in the Ordo Cantus Missae, which appeared in 1970.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 4th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 4th Sunday of Easter (11 May 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. I don’t know a more gorgeous ENTRANCE CHANT than the one given there: Misericórdia Dómini Plena Est Terra.
    —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

“After a discussion lasting several days, in which arguments for and against were discussed, the Council fathers came to the clear conclusion—wholly in agreement with the Council of Trent—that Latin must be retained as the language of cult in the Latin rite, although exceptional cases were possible and even welcome.”

— Alfons Cardinal Stickler, Vatican II ‘peritus’

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