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.

PDF Download • “Organ Accompaniment”

Over the past few years, I’ve been harmonizing all the vernacular plainsong Introit settings by the CHAUMONOT COMPOSERS GROUP. This coming Sunday—10 May 2026—is the 6th Sunday of Easter (Year A). The following declaration will probably smack of “blowing my own horn.” However, I’d rank this accompaniment as my best yet. In this rehearsal video, I attempt to sing it while simultaneously accompanying myself on the pipe organ. The musical score [for singers] as well as my organ accompaniment can be downloaded free of charge from the flourishing feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 4 May 2026

A few days ago, the CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED Facebook page posted this Gregorian Chant quiz regarding a rubric for the SEQUENCE for the feast of Corpus Christi: “Lauda Sion Salvatórem.” There is no audience more intelligent than ours—yet surprisingly nobody has been able to guess the rubric. Drop me an email with the right answer, and I’ll affirm your brilliance to everyone I encounter!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Rare Photographs” • Hannibal Bugnini

On 2 September 2025, we included in this article extremely rare photographs of Archbishop Hannibal Bugnini taken in Iran circa 1979. Bugnini had initially been banished by the pope to Uruguay, but he refused to obey. [This is interesting, since Bugnini relied upon ‘blind obedience’ when it came to modifications of the ancient liturgy.] After he refused to obey the order from the pope, Hannibal Bugnini was banished to Iran. You can also watch a short video of Hannibal Bugnini in Iran, dated 10 November 1979. That’s about a week after the USA embassy hostage crisis began in Tehran, and Pope Saint John Paul II had sent the leader of the Iranian Revolution a special letter.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Simplified Version • “Canon in D” (Pachelbel)

I published an article on 11 November 2023 called Wedding March For The Lazy Organist, which rather offhandedly made reference to a simplified version I created in 2007 for Pachelbel’s Canon. I often use it as a PROCESSIONAL for weddings and quinceañeras. Many organists say they “hate” Pachelbel’s Canon. But I love it. I think it’s bright and beautiful. I created that ‘simplified version’ for musicians coming to grips with playing the pipe organ. It can be downloaded as a free PDF if you visit Andrea Leal’s article dated 15 August 2022: Manuals Only: Organ Interludes Based on Plainsong. Specifically, it is page 84 in that collection—generously offered as a free PDF download. Johann Pachelbel (d. 1706) was a renowned German organist, violinist, teacher, and composer of over 500 works. A friend of Bach’s family, he taught Johann Christoph Bach (Sebastian Bach’s eldest brother) and lived in his house. Those who read Pachelbel’s biography will notice his connection to two German cities adopted as famous hymn tune names: EISENACH and ERFURT.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Anima Christi”

I received a request for an organ accompaniment I created way back in 2007 for the “Anima Christi” Gregorian Chant. You can download this PDF file which has the score in plainsong followed by a keyboard accompaniment. Many melodies have been paired with “Anima Christi” over the centuries, but this is—perhaps—the most common one.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Liturgical Law” (467 Pages)

On Good Friday during the middle ages, the pope privately recited THE ENTIRE PSALTER. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself by reading this passage by Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen (d. 1943). His famous book—called “Liturgical Law: A Handbook Of The Roman Liturgy”—was published by the Benjamin Herder Book Company, which was the American arm (operating out of St. Louis, Missouri) of one of the world’s most significant Catholic publishers. Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen was born in Switzerland but spent his career between the Benedictine monasteries at Conception (Missouri) and Mount Angel (Oregon). His 1931 masterpiece, Liturgical Law can be downloaded as a PDF file … 467 pages!

—Jeff Ostrowski