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Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for September 2025

Jeff Ostrowski · September 30, 2025

Good News From The Vatican

This concerns you!

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Richard J. Clark · September 29, 2025

I’m tired of tribalism.

“Forgive this recounting of my personal background…” —Richard J. Clark

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Corpus Christi Watershed · September 28, 2025

“Allow Us to protect your interests, even against your own will.” —Pope Saint Paul VI

“A choir which eliminates Gregorian Chant will be like a snuffed candle, which no more attracts the eyes and minds of men.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 27, 2025

“Music List” • 26th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Readers have expressed interest in examining the “music list” I prepared for this coming Sunday.

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Julie Huebner · September 27, 2025

Unison • “Deceptively Easy, Relentlessly Unforgiving”

“That’s not just music. That’s Catholicism at its most apostolic, most bold, and most timeless.” —Julie Huebner

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 27, 2025

“Reminder” — Month of September (2025)

It’s my pleasure to remind you that…

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Corpus Christi Watershed · September 27, 2025

Church Facelift • Saint Andrew’s (Tipton, Missouri)

You won’t believe this transformation!

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 26, 2025

PDF Download • Communion (26th Sn. Ord.)

This Communion antiphon sparkles with beauty.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 25, 2025

PDF Download • “Hymn by Father Thomas à Kempis” (arranged for 2 voices)

For the upcoming feast on 9 November (which replaces the Sunday Mass).

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 24, 2025

“Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams

This is quite a clever arrangement of “Come down, O love divine.”

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Dr. Alfred Calabrese · September 23, 2025

Dr. Alfred Calabrese • “Three Recommendations for Children’s Repertoire”

Below are three compositions I’ve used with great success…

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 22, 2025

Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?

Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952…

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Guest Author · September 22, 2025

Installment #7 • Three (3) Questions Re: Forthcoming USA Lectionary

What is the specific criteria for this most recent tinkering?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 22, 2025

Can You Identify This “Mystery” Hymn Tune?

Kevin Allen is currently in France.

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Mark Haas · September 22, 2025

The Old Gaffer: Parish Choir Director of Middle Earth

“Tending the garden of the liturgy so that, in God’s time, fruit may grow that is destined for eternity.”

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Calling Dr. Weaver!

    A remarkable exposition of the “mora vocis” (published in 1953 in the Netherlands) which doesn’t shy away from a certain item!

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

    Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
    The sumptuous melody called “JESU LEIDEN PEIN UND TOD” appears no fewer than three times in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal and is harmonized with standard Common Practice Era SATB voice leading and harmonies (which is only natural). However, one who takes the time to examine what Sebastian Bach did with that tune will encounter an incredibly dissonant sound. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more dissonant sound—in the entire Baroque era—than what I highlighted in yellow on that excerpt. Please let me know if you disagree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    ‘Ould’ But Not Good
    Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026
    A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Time and Again We Are Asked…
    John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Ordained a diocesan priest on 7 October 1827, Guéranger was quickly named a canon (a member of the cathedral chapter of Tours). Around 1830, he demonstrated his interest in the liturgy when he began to use the Roman Missal and texts for the Divine Office, unlike many of his colleagues, who still made use of the diocesan editions commonly in use in pre-Revolutionary France.”

— Source unknown

Recent Posts

  • Why I Never Write Articles for Corpus Christi Watershed Anymore
  • Calling Dr. Weaver!
  • “A Catholic Choir Director’s Decalogue” • Jeff’s Personal Odyssey (10 Points)
  • SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.
  • “Taking Over an Inner City School Choir” • Rebecca’s Story

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