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Views from the Choir Loft

When Dr. Calabrese Addressed Me Personally

Jeff Ostrowski · May 19, 2024

HAVE ALWAYS BEEN UNEASY when it comes to my skills as a vocalist. I entered the conservatory under SIMON CARRINGTON (who’d founded The King’s Singers in 1968) but was never chosen to sing in his elite ensemble. Granted, there were 375 other singers striving to be accepted into Carrington’s group each year, but I still felt … somewhat “inadequate,” I suppose would be the word. But during the most recent SACRED MUSIC SYMPOSIUM, one of the middle sections (which had a difficult tessitura) was struggling on the five-voice Salve Regina of Luca Marenzio. Dr. Calabrese in front of everybody summoned me, asking me to sing with them. Throughout the entire session, Dr. Calabrese kept saying to our section: “Listen to how Jeff sings that! Match Jeff’s tone exactly there! Follow Jeff in that spot! etc.” I suppose we all have certain events we’ll never forget. That was one for me. It’s one of the very few times my singing was ever complimented—and by an internationally-known conductor, no less! It made me feel like: “Maybe I am a halfway decent singer.”

Jeff’s Real Skill • One skill in which I feel confidence is my ability—perfected over a period of 25 years—to recruit “normal” Catholics from the pews and teach them how to sing well. Broadly speaking, these are people who possess no formal musical training whatsoever, yet under my direction they accomplish magnificent things. Indeed, some end up singing polyphony and plainchant better than professional choirs! I believe this is my special skill. I’ve learned to detect almost instantly which parts to focus on during rehearsal. Furthermore, I know how to “trick” the singers into tackling difficult things without becoming discouraged in the process. Consider the following ‘live’ recording from last week. This choir consists 100% of volunteer singers:

To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.

Learning Tricks • If you struggle to teach amateur choirs, you might consider amassing some “tricks” from a seminar I recently released called Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster. One thing I discuss in great detail is the use of CONTRAFACTUM, a favorite technique of George Frideric Handel (d. 1759) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (d. 1791). The hymn above is a type of CONTRAFACT, which takes as its text the oldest Latin Eucharistic hymn: viz. Sancti Veníte Christi Corpus Súmite. The English translation is by Father Herbert Thurston (d. 1939), based heavily on a version by Dr. Neale. Here’s the link for those interested in my seminar:

*  SEMINAR • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster

Conclusion • When I entered the Conservatory, I sang in “Concert Choir,” directed by Dr. James Daugherty (a choral methods professor). On the first day, he listened to us doing warm-ups then made a point of saying to his graduate teaching assistants, loud enough for the entire group to hear: “Wow, this group has a really nice sound. I’m really going to enjoy working with you.” As a young student, I remember the warm impression that made on me. Never forget to encourage your choirs. Praise them! Tell them when they sing well.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Father Herbert Thurston SJ, Rev Fr Adrian Fortescue Liturgy, Sancti Venite Eucharistic Last Updated: May 19, 2024

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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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “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
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

There is a lack of that kind of organization which favors mature judgment. Move on, move on, get it out. Schemata are multiplied without ever arriving at a considered form. The system of discussion is bad … Often the schemata arrive just before the discussions. Sometimes, and in important matters, such as the new anaphoras, the schema was distributed the evening before the discussion was to take place … Father Bugnini has only one interest: press ahead and finish.

— Cardinal Antonelli (Peritus during the Second Vatican Council)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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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.

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