Views from the Choir Loft

Andrew Motyka • Article Archive

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—Read full biography (with photographs).

Andrew R. Motyka · May 8, 2013

Not-So-Ordinary Time

Ordinary Time doesn’t mean what you think it means, and even if it does, you’re probably wrong.

Andrew R. Motyka · May 1, 2013

Live for the Moment

The temporal reality of the liturgy that cannot be bound by recordings.

Andrew R. Motyka · April 24, 2013

Following the Leader

The choir director as a model for singing.

Andrew R. Motyka · April 17, 2013

Just Pick Up a Pencil and Do It.

Short and sweet regarding composing.

Andrew R. Motyka · April 10, 2013

Participating Actively despite all of that Active Participation

Isn’t this what is meant by the “active participation” that is one of the liturgical goals of the Second Vatican Council?

Andrew R. Motyka · April 3, 2013

The Choir Director as Catechist

How to feed your choir in non-musical ways.

Andrew R. Motyka · March 27, 2013

Free Communion Antiphons!

Free responsorial-style Communion antiphons for Ordinary Form Mass use.

Andrew R. Motyka · March 20, 2013

Cub Scouts, Abel, and Liturgical Music

The Cub Scout motto and how we should always render our best work to God.

Andrew R. Motyka · March 13, 2013

How Do I Get Them to Sing? Part 2 of 2

Part 2 of the congregational singing series.

Andrew R. Motyka · March 6, 2013

How Do I Get Them to Sing? Part 1 of 2

The perennial problem of congregational singing.

Andrew R. Motyka · February 27, 2013

The Church Music Director: Job or Vocation?

Is music your whole life? Should it be?

Andrew R. Motyka · February 20, 2013

Are You to Wash My Feet?

Presenting a choir piece for the Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday

Andrew R. Motyka · February 13, 2013

Lord, Have Mercy?

In which I make Prince references to describe the Ash Wednesday Kyrie.

Andrew R. Motyka · February 6, 2013

Every moment is a teachable moment

For the record, I double-checked the Missal, and learned something about the rubrics myself . . .

Andrew R. Motyka · January 30, 2013

I am not worthy

In which I forget parts of the Mass Ordinary and try to get through it anyway.

Music List • (Palm Sunday, 2026)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Palm Sunday—a.k.a. “Dominica in palmis de Passione Domini”—which is 29 March 2026. Please feel free to download it as a PDF file if such a thing interests you. The OFFERTORY (Impropérium exspectávit cor meum) is quite moving. Even though the COMMUNION ANTIPHON is relatively simple, the Fauxbourdon makes it sound outstanding.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Easter • Would You Sing This Hymn?

He who examines Laudes Dei: a hymnal for Catholic congregations (St. Louis, 1894) will discover this pairing of a hymn for Easter. For the record, this isn’t the only Catholic hymn book to marry that text and melody; e.g. Saint Mark’s Hymnal for Use in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States (Peoria, 1910) does the same thing. Sometimes an unexpected pairing—chosen with sensitivity—can be superb, forcing singers to experience the text in a ‘fresh’ and wonderful way. On the other hand, we sometimes encounter something I’ve called “PERNICIOUS HYMN PAIRINGS.” If you find the subject in intriguing, feel free to peruse an article I published in May of 2023. As always, my email inbox is open if you have a bone to pick with my take.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Pipe Organ “Answers” in Plainsong?

In 2003, I copied a book by Félix Bélédin (d. 1895), who was titular organist—from 1841 to 1874—at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Lyon (France). In 2008, we scanned and uploaded the book to the Lalande Online Library. Nobody knows for sure when the book was published; some believe it first appeared in the 1840s. In any event, one who examines this excerpt, showing GLORIA IX might wonder why it says the organ answers in plainsong. However, the front of the book explains, telling the organist explicitly when to “respond in plainchant.” This is something called organ alternatim. Believe it or not, the pipe organ would take turns with the choir, playing certain texts instrumentally instead of having them sung. I’m not very well-versed in this—pardon the pun—but if memory serves, ORGAN ALTERNATIM was frowned upon by the time of Pope Saint Pius X. Nevertheless, French organists kept doing it, even after it was explicitly condemned as an abuse.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”

For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.

—Jeff Ostrowski