Views from the Choir Loft

Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Dr. Alfred Calabrese is a conductor, educator, composer, scholar, and church musician. Having worked in academia for two decades, he felt called to enter full-time work in the Catholic Church, and since 2007 has directed the music at Saint Rita Catholic Church. He and his wife live in Dallas, TX. They have two grown children. Read more.

Olivier Latry: Recital in Dallas This Sunday

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · February 18, 2020 ·

I am thrilled that my parish, St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX, will host Mr. Latry this Sunday evening for an extraordinary concert of French music.

To Breathe or Not To Breathe

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · February 8, 2020 ·

Our choirs should not sound mechanical. Beautiful music its waiting to be discovered.

Is It Time To Stop Singing The Propers?

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · January 19, 2020 ·

I know how difficult it can be to introduce chant to a Novus Ordo parish.

Saving the Church, One Choir at a Time

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · August 29, 2018 ·

On the ground in our parishes and in our choirs is where the truth lies. Let us not retreat.

Of Estate Sales, Prayers, and Mass Attendance

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · July 4, 2018 ·

I started to realize how little time we spend thinking about these things…

Repetition at the School Mass: “Do it again!”

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · January 30, 2018 ·

Grown up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.

The Real Reason We Sing

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · November 8, 2017 ·

Let’s not make this about ourselves.

Five Ways To Make Dogma “Live Loudly Within You”

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · September 18, 2017 ·

Thank you, Senator Feinstein!

Josquin Desprez • A Marian Masterpiece

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · May 25, 2017 ·

Josquin surely belongs in the pantheon of history’s most important composers.

Kids Are Colorblind But Adults Are Not

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · May 3, 2017 ·

Adults with an agenda teach children their own biases.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski