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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

PDF Download • “Choral Warm-Up” by Jeff Ostrowski (after Morley)

Jeff Ostrowski · October 31, 2023

AXI DRIVERS. In September of 1914, a year after Abbat Pothier finished his role as president of the Vatican Commission on Gregorian Chant established by POPE SAINT PIUS X, approximately 570,000 men died during a WW1 battle at the Marne River. Many of the French and British soldiers arrived from Paris by means of taxi cab drivers (!) carrying five soldiers (four in the back, one seated next to the driver). Only the back lights of the taxis were lit, and drivers were instructed to follow the lights of the taxi ahead. Most of the taxis were demobilized on 8 September, but some remained longer to carry the wounded and refugees. The taxis—following city regulations—dutifully ran their meters. Carrying soldiers by means of taxi cabs? This was an unorthodox technique.

Unorthodox Actions • Sometimes it’s necessary to break from what’s mainstream. Everything I’ve tried to contribute to Corpus Christi Watershed has been done for one reason: viz. I believe the “status quo” at Ordinary Form Masses is completely unacceptable. When it comes to the Holy Mass, do we really believe the SECOND PERSON OF THE BLESSED TRINITY becomes present on our altars? Do we take to heart the powerful words of Monsignor Knox? I’ve matured over the last 25 years, to be sure. Nevertheless, I still (ardently) believe what I argued back then: If we really believe what we say we believe, we would not tolerate goofy, silly, secular music at the Holy Mass. Below is an example of the type of music they sang 1 at our rich, suburban parish when I was growing up in the 1990s:

*  Mp3 Download • Typical “Church” Song from Jeff’s Youth

A Way Forward? • If the status quo is unacceptable, the question becomes: What can we do about it? In a moment, I’ll discuss the crusade I’m dreaming of. First, I’d like to share with you a “Choral Warm-Up” I’ve been using with the choir I direct, in which 100% of the members are volunteers recruited from the pews. Very few can read music. Many had no musical training whatsoever (!) before I recruited them. This exercise attempts to teach them the “SSS” technique:

*  PDF Download • “Choral Warm-Up” (after Thomas Morley)

Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #37547.

The “SSS” Technique • In my article dated 16 October 2023, I mentioned how I’ve published hundreds of articles over the years. The time is ripe to pursue a better way of organizing them. Therefore, I’ve decided to begin a new section of the website called: Tricks of the Conscientious Choirmaster. The “SSS” technique is used by all competent choral singers, especially leading to a suspension (or dissonance that gets resolved). The singer begins softly and then adds a “hairpin” (crescendo). SSS = Start Soft (then) Swell. Several of my choir members helped make that rehearsal video. When I sent it to a famous director who’s run choral programs all over the world, he wrote: “Jeff, you nailed it! Allowing growth/energy into the phrase and tapering at phrase end. The sung example you sent was just lovely. Be sure to use the imagery of pulling/stretching a rubber band. Your singers had the ebb and flow. Great job!” During rehearsal a few nights ago, our volunteer parish choir attempted this “Choral Warm-Up” for the first time. Click here if you wish to hear a ‘live’ version of our first attempt. It will get better the more we sing it.

Did Morley Copy Nanino? • In 2004, I produced a CD (Compact Disc) containing choral music by Palestrina, Croce, Victoria, Gabrieli, Marenzio, Uttendal, Quignard, Costantini, Zoilo, Hassler, Lassus, Ravanello, Allegri, Viadana, Monteverdi, and others. Included on that CD was a magnificent psalm setting by GIOVANNI BERNARDINO NANINO (d. 1623) called “Laudáte Púeri Dóminum.” One of the movements—viz. “Quis Sicut Dóminus Deus Noster”—sounds incredibly similar to the piece by Morley. Listen to this excerpt (specifically marker 0:24) and see whether you agree:

Here’s the direct URL link.

For the record (pardon the pun), that recording was produced before the advent of “pitch correction” software. Perhaps it shows!

Back To Taxi Cabs • Earlier, I spoke of the “unorthodox” approach of placing soldiers in taxi cabs. To read history is to understand that truth is stranger than fiction. Consider Ulysses S. Grant, who failed at every pursuit he ever tried. Because of his various failures, Grant ended up working as a clerk in his father’s leather business. He served in a lowly position under his (much younger) brother, Orvil Lynch Grant. But within the space of one year (!) Grant found himself serving as a general overseeing the BATTLE OF SHILOH (where casualties numbered 24,000). How does one go from being a store clerk—desperately trying to sell hats to women—to overseeing such carnage? The truth is stranger than fiction.

A New Crusade? • The status quo at Ordinary Form Masses is completely unacceptable. What can be done? For decades, some have chosen to complain. “Church musicians aren’t paid enough,” they exclaim over and over again. My friends, that “complaining” approach has gotten us nowhere. So perhaps it’s time we try something unorthodox. Isn’t it time for a new crusade? Perhaps we should start asking why it is that so many priests have contempt for authentic church music. Isn’t it possible that some hate sacred music because they’ve heard it performed badly? Isn’t it possible that too many music directors fail to utilize appropriate musical diversity at Mass? How many priests have ever (in their entire life) heard a decent choir sing? I’m not speaking of a choir on a recording; I mean in real life. Are we sometimes guilty of singing polyphony designed for a choir with just one singer on each part? After all, that’s not a choral sound: that’s a quartet of soloists. Such an approach can ruin pieces conceived for a choir, because a ravishing choral sound depends on many voices “aiming” for a pitch (which each hears properly in their mind, similar to Plato’s famous theory of “ideals”) but actually creating a rich sound by “surrounding” the pitch. An ensemble of soloists can be quite beautiful (and has its proper place, as I’ve said a zillion times on this blog), but it’s not the same as a true choral sound. Many professional ensembles produce recordings with an “ensemble of soloists” rather than a proper choir, because hiring soloists is a lot cheaper than hiring a full choir. By so doing, they harm sacred music. Moreover, aren’t we ourselves sometimes guilty? When we see people who call themselves “experts” pontificating about sacred music online, why don’t we call them out? Why don’t we demand to know how many choirs they’ve conducted in real life? Why don’t we demand to know where they currently work? Why don’t we demand to hear recordings of their choirs? If we did that, 90% of these fake “experts” would stop polluting the forums and social media discussions with terrible advice about church music. We must demand that these self-proclaimed “experts” provide proof they’ve stood in front of a choir in real life. There’s a reason such people are too ashamed to reveal recordings their choirs have made. I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you the reason! Those who have stood in front of a choir in real life know how difficult the choirmaster’s vocation is. I’m reminded of Vladimir Horowitz. When students would come to play at his home, Horowitz would always say: “You don’t need to be nervous to play for me; I’m a very good pianist myself, so I know how difficult it is.” By the way, singing in a choir is not the same thing as directing a choir. Let’s make a commitment to publicly condemn toxic people. Let’s make a commitment to never be jealous of other sacred music programs. Instead, let’s try to learn from directors who show (by their words and deeds) they’re authentic Christians. If we could only banish pomposity, jealousy, and pettiness, we’d learn so much from one another. Years ago, during the Sacred Music Symposium, my colleague ANDREA LEAL taught me how to create text messages by speaking (rather than typing). This knowledge benefited me tremendously! Nobody had ever taken the time to help me—but she did.

Not Unique To Music • The crusade I’m suggesting is basically about honesty. Some are quick to call priests and bishops “uneducated philistines who know nothing about real music.” Yet these same people run music programs which are ghastly. I wish I had a nickel for every musician who complains online about priests being “philistines” yet is too embarrassed to provide a recording of the music they themselves produce at church. It really is, therefore, a crusade for honesty. If someone is too ashamed to provide a recording of how their choir sounds, how can we blame priests for hating it? I had the privilege for several years of studying with the former director of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. Whenever a choral director’s name came up, he would ask one question: “What does his choir sound like?” And that really is the only question that matters. Nor is this phenomenon unique to the musical scene. There are priests online who pontificate about every subject in the world, attacking other priests (and even bishops). Yet, these same priests have been removed from their parishes … or never had a parish to begin with! I know several who have been forbidden to preach publicly. I think we can all agree that “tearing down others” on the internet is infinitely easier than accomplishing something meaningful in real life. Our Blessed Savior put it best: Hypocrita, ejice primum trabem de oculo tuo, et tunc videbis ejicere festucam de oculo fratris tui.

1 Decades later, I found out that song was composed by a British man named PAUL INWOOD. As I pointed out a few weeks ago, Mr. Inwood’s understanding of the Mass is woefully inadequate, as evidenced by this screenshot my friend recently shared with me. Once we understand that, the irreverent, goofy, uninspired style of Inwood’s “sacred” compositions makes sense. Agere sequitur esse.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Battle of the Marne, Giovanni Bernardino Nanino, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Luca Marenzio Composer, Monsignor Ronald Knox Traditional Mass, Orlando de Lassus, Paul Inwood Composer, Taxi Cab Drivers WW1, The Great War, Thomas Morley Theorist Composer, Tricks of Conscientious Choirmaster Last Updated: October 31, 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

    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

[Speaking of those who wish to eliminate Latin from the liturgy.] “One may well wonder what the origin is of this new way of thinking and this sudden dislike for the past; one may well wonder why these things have been fostered.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (15 August 1966)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Comparison Chart • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
  • “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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