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Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for January 2024

Jeff Ostrowski · January 31, 2024

PDF Download • “Pew Edition” — Monsignor Martin B. Hellriegel’s Hymnal (149 Pages)

Including never-before-released photographs of Monsignor Martin B. Hellriegel.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 30, 2024

“Polyphonic Sanctus” by J.S. Bach • Jeff Attempts All Voices (Even the Girls’ Vocals)

The occasion I speak of is when he stopped by our home to see us one final time.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 29, 2024

PDF Score • “Mass Setting I Wrote For Corrinne”

I demonstrate how the “Kyrie Eleison” can be adapted for use in the Extraordinary Form.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 27, 2024

“Saint Mark” • Hymn Tune

Regarding the hymn tune called “ST MARK”—have you ever heard or sung this? If you scroll towards the bottom of this recent article, you can hear my choir (which is made up 100% of volunteers) singing it. Some people say the ST MARK melody sounds a little ‘protestant.’ What do you think? I rather like […]

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 26, 2024

Eucharistic Hymn With Gorgeous Tenor Line

Responding to an inquiry from Wendy Q.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 26, 2024

Do not read this!

She probably never actually said this, but leave that aside for the moment.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 24, 2024

“Seeking Employment” • Please help!

You can download my official résumé.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 23, 2024

Response to Mike’s Letter • “Six Concrete Examples”

“I would dismiss it as the second text writer being lazy and stealing someone else’s music…” —Michael H.

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Corpus Christi Watershed · January 21, 2024

A Message From Mr. Roderick Royce!

Mr. Royce has taught orchestra for thirteen years.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 18, 2024

Gregorian Chant … with a drone?

It’s possible to sing Carmen Gregorianum with a drone note (a.k.a. “ison”) but is this always a good idea? I’ve heard it done very poorly. We tried singing GLORIA IX with an ison last Sunday. Feel free to listen to this excerpt (Mp3) and let me know your thoughts.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 18, 2024

Abbat Pothier on Gregorian Chant

“There is, then, in the Church, in the Catholic liturgy, a music that, as we have just stated, is both a word and a song, a music rich and powerful, although simple and natural, a music that is not self-seeking, which does not attend to itself but comes forth as the spontaneous utterance of religious […]

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 17, 2024

PDF Download • “Credo III + Polyphonic Extension”

When I just couldn’t take it anymore, I called up a friend on the telephone and paid him $150 to teach me.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 16, 2024

Which Hymns Are Appropriate After Christmas?

How many Catholics realize how closely the feast of the Epiphany is tied to the Holy Eucharist and Calvary?

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Guest Author · January 13, 2024

Guest Article by Dr. Kurt Poterack

Christendom College offers scholarships and free organ lessons for students starting in the Fall of 2024.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 12, 2024

Organ Accompaniment Booklet (25 pages)

Those who celebrate VESPERS each week may wish to download my organ accompaniment booklet (25 pages) for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany. This was originally released about a year ago (link), but minor improvements have been made.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Calling Dr. Weaver!

    A remarkable exposition of the “mora vocis” (published in 1953 in the Netherlands) which doesn’t shy away from a certain item!

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

    Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
    The sumptuous melody called “JESU LEIDEN PEIN UND TOD” appears no fewer than three times in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal and is harmonized with standard Common Practice Era SATB voice leading and harmonies (which is only natural). However, one who takes the time to examine what Sebastian Bach did with that tune will encounter an incredibly dissonant sound. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more dissonant sound—in the entire Baroque era—than what I highlighted in yellow on that excerpt. Please let me know if you disagree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    ‘Ould’ But Not Good
    Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026
    A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Time and Again We Are Asked…
    John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Like all other liturgical functions, like offices and ranks in the Church, indeed like everything else in the world, the religious service that we call the Mass existed long before it had a special technical name.

— Rev. Adrian Fortescue (1912)

Recent Posts

  • Why I Never Write Articles for Corpus Christi Watershed Anymore
  • Calling Dr. Weaver!
  • “A Catholic Choir Director’s Decalogue” • Jeff’s Personal Odyssey (10 Points)
  • SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.
  • “Taking Over an Inner City School Choir” • Rebecca’s Story

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