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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Released • Jeff Ostrowski’s Seminar: “Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster” (9+ hours)

Corpus Christi Watershed · January 10, 2024

NOWLEDGE IS POWER—at least for the conscientious choirmaster! By popular demand, Jeff Ostrowski has spent six months creating a video seminar based upon innumerable lectures, masterclasses, and tutorials he’s presented over the last decade at the Sacred Music Symposium. Mr. Ostrowski, an organist and choirmaster, was already internationally-known as a composer before the age of thirty. He founded—and still organizes—the annual SACRED MUSIC SYMPOSIUM in Los Angeles. You’re cordially invited to read the glowing reviews by participants of this event, more than a hundred of which have been posted on its website. (They were submitted by choir directors across the globe.) To those who assisted him, Mr. Ostrowski wrote this note.

🔴 Five Crucial Links:

(1) Free Film • SEMINAR INTRODUCTION (51 minutes)
—Don’t miss this INTRODUCTION, available free of charge!

(2) PDF Download • SEMINAR BLUEPRINT
—This is the “outline” or “blueprint” for the entire seminar.

(3) PDF Download • 2023 BOOKLET (330 pages)
—(MASSIVE FILE) given to participants of Sacred Music Symposium 2023.

(4) SEMINAR (9 hours) • “Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster”
—BASIC VERSION ($375 USD) doesn’t include the phone call.

(5) SEMINAR (9 hours) • “Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster”
—PREMIUM VERSION ($425 USD) includes a 45-minute phone consultation.

Telephone Call • If you purchase the “PREMIUM VERSION,” you’ll receive a personal 45-minute consultation (via telephone) with Jeff Ostrowski. If you didn’t understand something during the seminar—or if sufficient attention was not given to a topic of interest to you—this phone call will remedy that. You can also ask Mr. Ostrowski questions which have nothing to do with the seminar; the choice is yours. If for any reason you have difficulty reaching Mr. Ostrowski, send him an email: dom.pothier@gmail.com with the subject heading: Personal Phone Call.

Examples
Jeff’s Volunteer Choir

Jeff Ostrowski selected all his singers from among the congregation. In other words, 100% of the singers he directs came from families in his parish. His choirs contain zero “outside” singers, zero non-Catholics, and zero paid singers. Many members had never sung—in any choir—before he recruited them to sing at Mass.

*  Example • “Veni Creator Spiritus” (sung in English)
—Live recording by Jeff’s volunteer choir.

*  Example • “O Sola Magnarum Urbium” (females only)
—They had never rehearsed this piece before singing it!

*  Example • “Songs Of Thankfulness And Praise” (In Epiphania Domini)
—Live recording by Jeff’s volunteer choir.

*  Example • Pange Lingua Gloriosi (English Translation)
—Studio recording by members of Jeff’s volunteer choir.

*  Example • “Kyrie VIII” (females only)
—Live recording by Jeff’s volunteer choir.

*  Example • “Kyrie VIII” (with a soloist)
—Live recording by Jeff’s volunteer choir.

*  Example • “A Solis Ortus Cardine” (sung in English)
—Studio recording by members of Jeff’s choir.

*  Example • “A Solis Ortus Cardine” (sung in Latin)
—Studio recording by members of Jeff’s choir.

*  Example • “What Child Is This?” (sung in Latin)
—Jeff sings all the voices to his own arrangement.
—Jeff even attempts to sing the girls’ parts!

*  Example • “O Magnum Mysterium” (Tomás Luis de Victoria)
—Recorded ‘live’ by Jeff’s volunteer choir at Midnight Mass.

Click here to read a recommendation from Mr. Roderick Royce.

Click here to read a recommendation from Father Robbie Low (Catholic Priest in England).

Page URL: https://ccwatershed.org/seminar/

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: March 5, 2024

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —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

Giovanni Doni is known for having changed the name of note “Ut,” renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that 1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut,” and 2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the tonic and root of the world. There is much academic speculation that Giovanni Doni also wanted to imprint himself into musical canon in perpetuity because “Do” is also ulteriorly an abbreviation for his family name.

— Giovanni Battista Doni died in 1647AD

Recent Posts

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  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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