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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

A Couple of Recent Podcast Appearances

Dr. Charles Weaver · May 4, 2024

T HAS BEEN an exceptionally busy semester of teaching for me. I took on a few extra music history classes while a colleague is on maternity leave. It brings me such joy to teach this subject, especially because these classes have mostly dealt with sixteenth- and seventeenth-century music, and most of my students have had very little exposure to such things. There’s nothing quite like introducing Monteverdi’s music to a bunch of college freshmen who have never heard it before.

It also means that my writing here, never very frequent in any case, has slowed to a trickle while I tend to my teaching duties. There is so much I would like to write about, and I haven’t found the time. Today, however, I would like to at least draw our readers’ attention to a couple of recent podcasts I have appeared on.

The first is a conversation I had with Mark Emerson Donnelly. There is a kind of interesting story about how I met Mark. I was in Vancouver, BC one summer about a decade ago to teach at a summer course put on by the Lute Society of America. Since we had arrived on the weekend, I was there on a Sunday, and I, naturally, made my way to the local FSSP apostolate to hear Mass. During the Mass, I sang along on the congregational ordinary well enough that someone near me insisted on introducing me to the choirmaster, who happened to be Mark. We instantly hit it off, and I even ended up attending their choir rehearsal that week, while he and his family came to a guitar recital that I gave at the workshop. We’ve been in touch off and on in the years since. He’s a very good and enthusiastic teacher of Gregorian chant in the Solesmes style, and he’s done a lot of work with the monks of Clear Creek and is also affiliated with the ongoing Laus in Ecclesia series of textbooks. He has recently started a Youtube series about chant, which you can find here. If you are interested in some practical tips about incorporating that style of singing into your parish choir, you might enjoy his content. I had a conversation with Mark recently on his channel, and he is releasing the conversation in multiple parts. Parts 1 and 2 are already up.

The other podcast I was on recently is Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka’s Square Notes. I’m sure our listeners will be familiar with this show, now in its sixth season. The show has featured some really interesting interviews; perhaps my favorite is the episode about Mary Berry from last season. I’ve actually been on the show five times now. My most recent appearance is here. The topic is how one might integrate the scholarly study of chant with the spiritual and liturgical life of a Church musician. One thing I discuss there is why one ought to learn as much as one can about how the editions we sing from come about. This is also leading up to a class I’m teaching this summer at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. Perhaps you sing from the Vatican Edition, or from the Liber, or from the Graduale Triplex or the Graduale Novum. It’s always worthwhile learning more about how those things came to be and why they differ from each other.

After this podcast came out, I got some interesting pushback from a student for saying, in the course of this conversation, that one really ought to sing the propers in a schola every week in order to be able to study chant well as a scholarly subject. That seems like a topic for another post, when I have more time to think about it, but I have a few initial thoughts. The issue is somewhat related to the distinction of emic versus etic perspectives in anthropology and related fields. My student’s is a good one, because, as he said, presumably I as a music theory teacher don’t feel that I need to be able to play a Beethoven concerto in order to teach about it at school. This has led me to ask myself, why do I feel differently about chant? Can I clarify my thinking?

It goes without saying thaat someone ought to be able to lecture or teach or write about chant, but isn’t there something true about the idea that one has to actually live with and in the liturgy in order to be able to do an excellent job teaching about the chant or describing it? Is it perhaps, that chant is a sacramental? That much of what makes it special and gives it its particular power is not able to be abstracted and removed from its proper context in the prayer life of the singer, at least not without depriving it of something essential?

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Carmen Gregorianum, Gregorian Chant Last Updated: May 4, 2024

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About Dr. Charles Weaver

Dr. Charles Weaver is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and serves as director of music for St. Mary’s Church. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Legitimate and necessary concern for current realities in the concrete lives of people cannot make us forget the true nature of the liturgical actions. It is clear that the Mass is not the time to “celebrate” human dignity or purely terrestrial claims or hopes. It is rather the sacrifice which renders Christ really present in the sacrament.

— Pope Saint John Paul II (20 March 1990)

Recent Posts

  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations
  • PDF Download • “Marian Antiphon Booklet” (4 pages) + Five Rhythmic Considerations

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