Views from the Choir Loft

Guest Article by Dr. Kurt Poterack

Guest Author · January 13, 2024

EXT FALL at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, courtesy of the Saint Cecilia Choral Program, there will be two voice scholarships available: one for a woman (soprano or alto); and for a man (tenor or bass). This one-year scholarship for a woman will consist of $4,500 in tuition reduction and free voice lessons throughout the year. The one-year scholarship for a man will consist of $4,500 in tuition reduction and free voice lessons for the year. Specifics can be found at the bottom of this URL link. The recipient is expected to attend sectional and full rehearsals throughout the year, sing at the Sunday Mass, the First Friday Holy Hour, help out at weekday Masses, and perform other duties that will be discussed at the interview. Students will need to submit an audition video of one piece no later than 1 February 2024 and, if selected, will come to campus as a finalist to audition in person on Saturday, 16 March 2024.

Organ Scholarships at Christendom College • Starting next fall, there will be one main scholarship offered as a part of the Pope Benedict XVI Organ Scholarship Program. There will also be lesser scholarships available.  Specifics can be found at the bottom of this URL link. Students will need to submit an audition video of one piece no later than 1 February 2024 and, if selected, will come to campus as a finalist to audition in person on Saturday, 16 March 2024.

Further Information • Those with questions are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Kurt Poterack of Christendom College via email.

We hope you enjoyed this guest article by Dr. Poterack.

Photo credit: Flickr.

Dr. Kurt Poterack, who holds an M.M. and a Ph.D. in Music Composition from Michigan State University, has taught music at the collegiate level for thirty years, and has been involved with Catholic liturgical music for almost as long. He studied plainsong with the late Dr. Theodore Marier as well as the Ward Method at Catholic University. He has taught the Chant Practicum course at CUA and served on the Board of Directors of the DOM MOCQUEREAU FOUNDATION for the past several years.

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

Luis Martínez Must Go!

Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

—Jeff Ostrowski

Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!

A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)

I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

“Unfortunately, on the one hand a deadly error in judgment placed the official leadership of this committee into the hands of a man who—though generous and brave—was not very knowledgeable: Cardinal Lercaro. He was utterly incapable of resisting the maneuvers of the mealy-mouthed scoundrel that the Neapolitan Vincentian, Bugnini, a man as bereft of culture as he was of basic honesty, soon revealed himself to be.”

— ‘Fr. Louis Bouyer, an important member of the Consilium’