• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

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)

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

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

Jeff Ostrowski · January 30, 2024

NLY ONCE did I ever see FATHER VALENTINE YOUNG wearing ‘clerics’ (i.e. a black clerical suit with Roman collar). Normally, he wore his full Franciscan robes. The occasion I speak of is when Father Valentine stopped by our home to say goodbye. The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter had transferred him to an Apostolate where the local bishop was giving them trouble. The theory was that Father Valentine would ‘cool’ the situation, owing to his calm demeanor and sanctity. In all the years I knew him, he never once displayed even a hint of arrogance. As he walked out the front door, I observed my dad surreptitiously slip him a wad of cash. (My dad preferred to give alms without fanfare.)

Anastasia Rege • Years later, having observed an article I wrote in the ADOREMUS BULLETIN, Father Valentine wrote me an email (demonstrating his usual self-effacing manner): “Well, Jeff, at least I can say I know famous people.” I was reminded of these words this morning, when I received an amazing message from ANASTASIA REGE, a prominent New York conductor:

Jeff Ostrowski’s infectious passion for music is evident throughout his seminar, Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster, which calls us to be “on fire with love” for the music we make with our choirs. The seminar addresses every aspect of directing a church choir including in-depth rehearsal strategies, member retention, building community in your ensemble, repertoire selection, musical phrasing, navigating your role within the parish, communication with your ensemble, and more. Jeff addresses the myriad challenges a choirmaster may face with helpful tips, accessible techniques, and supportive teaching practices. Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster, along with the resources available on the Corpus Christi Watershed website, are invaluable to the modern church musician.

I am truly flattered by Anastasia’s words! I cordially invite readers to check out my seminar:

*  Seminar • “Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster”

Bach Sanctus (SATB)

As long as I’m “blowing my own horn” … I recently stumbled across an old recording of mine, where I attempt to sing all the vocal parts—even the girls’ parts—of a SANCTUS by Johann Sebastian Bach:

Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #87349 .

Sadness • Rehearsal videos for each individual voice, along with PDF score, are available free of charge at that “87349” link (above). But most readers will not follow that link—and that causes deep sadness in my soul.

Choral Lacuna

When I was in graduate school studying musicology, the professors seemed obsessed with certain words. One of those words was “dichotomy.” An unspoken rule said that students must include the word “dichotomy” in every paragraph, just as another unspoken rule said all titles must begin with the word towards.1

Another word they were obsessed with was “lacuna.” I’m hesitant to use it—but there really is a lacuna in the world of church music. Specifically, there’s a lacking when it comes to conductors’ abilities to instantly diagnose what must be fixed in a performance. Let me give an example. Below, you will find a recording made at our rehearsal. It’s a “first attempt” at singing the Bach Sanctus mentioned above:

Here’s the direct URL link.

Competent Choral Conductor • That recording has several very nice moments, but there are also flawed sections. The competent choral conductor must be able to instantly “analyze” or “diagnose” or “give a prognosis” for certain errors in a performance. Even better would be if the conductor knows how to “cure” or “remedy” or “fix” the errors. From what I can tell, conservatories do not put enough emphasis on this crucial skill.

P.S.
For the record, Father Valentine Young wore ‘clerics’ when he drove extremely long distances because it wasn’t that easy—for a man his age—to steer a car while dressed in Franciscan robes.

1 For example: Towards a History of the Spanish Villancico or Towards a New Poetics of Musical Influence or Towards a History of Viennese Chamber Music in the Early Classical Period or Towards an Ethnomusicology of Notation or Towards an Identification of Johannes Brahms or Towards an Analysis of the Performativity of Vocal Timbre or Towards an Ecomusicology of the Environmental Imagination or Towards an Ethics of Care in Musicology or (my favorite) Towards a Decolonial Musicology of the Anthropocene.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Adoremus Bulletin, Johann Sebastian Bach Choral Sanctus, The Competent Choral Conductor Last Updated: May 1, 2024

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —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

“What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And, without the love of Jesus, everything is useless.”

— Pope John Paul II (1979)

Recent Posts

  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)
  • August 2025 • “Colorado Sacred Music Conference”
  • New “Latin/English Missal” for the Novus Ordo
  • Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up