Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for June 2026

Jeff Ostrowski · June 11, 2026

Time and Again We Are Asked…

(1880s) Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 10, 2026

“Citation Needed” • Dom Foote of ICEL

Father Basil Foote, OSB, served on the Music Sub-Committee of the “International Commission on English in the Liturgy” (ICEL).

Jeff Ostrowski · June 9, 2026

“Should the People Sing in Parts?” • Weighing the Case for SATB Hymnals in the Pews

A normal person would respond: “There are many television shows; to which do you refer?”

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Jeff Ostrowski · June 8, 2026

Revealed • “Answer to the Riddle”

Nobody was able to correctly guess this ‘rubrical riddle’—so here’s the answer.

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Jeff Ostrowski · June 6, 2026

Music List • “Corpus Christi” (Year A)

The 28-page Singers’ Booklet is included. Our children’s choir will join us for this Mass.

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Corpus Christi Watershed · June 5, 2026

Colorado Sacred Music Conference • “Journey of the American Parish and Its Future in the New Rite”

Where do we come from and where is the Church going? Clark contends there is much hope.

Jeff Ostrowski · June 4, 2026

PDF Download • 35 musical scores for “Lauda Sion Salvatorem” • (Corpus Christi Sequence)

Including many different organ accompaniments!

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Jeff Ostrowski · June 2, 2026

Rare! Rare! Rare! • “Australian Hymnal” (Roman Catholic) from 1942 • By Father Percy Jones

These 3-voice Gregorian Chant harmonizations (from Spain and Australia) are certainly among the rarest we’ve ever posted.

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Jeff Ostrowski · June 1, 2026

PDF Download • “Rubric Challenge”

So far, nobody has guessed correctly. (Challenge posted a few weeks ago.)

“Citation Needed” • Dom Foote of ICEL

Father Basil Foote, OSB, was organist at WESTMINSTER ABBEY MISSION (British Columbia, Canada). In 1984 he published an article called “Chanting in the Vernacular.” Twenty years later, it was republished by ADOREMUS—and that’s how it came to my attention. In that article, Dom Foote makes a claim I consider somewhat outlandish. At the very least, his statement with regard to the Latin accent needs some sort of citation. He has served on the Music Sub-Committee of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL).

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • “Corpus Christi” (Year A)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for the Feast of Corpus Christi—a.k.a. “Feria V post Ss.mam Trinitatem”—which is 7 June 2026 in the United States. You can download it as a PDF file if that appeals to you. Our children’s choir will join us for this Mass. I’m not sure I know a more beautiful setting than the ENTRANCE CHANT, which comes from Psalm 80 (“Exsultáte Deo adjutóri nostro”). Although it’s rather ugly—because I didn’t have time to clean everything up—feel free to download the SINGER’S PDF BOOKLET (28 pages), in case anything therein gives you inspiration.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Rubric Challenge”

The feast of Corpus Christi is special for TLM altar boys. On that day, two of us thurifers got to walk backwards while using the THURIBLE. (That American custom, if memory serves, is not strictly described in the rubrics.) A few weeks ago on the CCW Facebook Page we posted this screenshot from a 1915 Roman Catholic hymnal. The challenge is to guess what the rubric says, which we blocked from view with a red box. So far, nobody has guessed correctly. Feel free to guess! Our email address is listed at the bottom of each page. UPDATE: The answer has been revealed as of 8 June 2026.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

“Reminder” — Month of June (2026)

On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). Since we were founded in 2006, not one of our board members has ever accepted any remuneration whatsoever—not a penny. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. It couldn’t be easier to subscribe! Just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Thee” + “Thou” + “Thine”

Few musicians realize that various English translations of Sacred Scripture were granted formal approval by the USCCB and the Vatican for liturgical use in the United States of America. But don’t take my word for it! Here are four documents proving this, which you can examine with your own eyes. Some believe the words “Thine” and “Thou” and “Thee” were forbidden after Vatican II—but that’s incorrect. For example, they’re found in the English translation of the ‘Our Father’ at Mass. Moreover, the Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition) mentioned in those four documents employs “Thine” and “Thou” and “Thee.” It was published with a FOREWORD by Westminster’s Roman Catholic Archbishop (John Cardinal Heenan).

—Jeff Ostrowski