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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Alfred Calabrese • Article Archive

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 full biography (with photographs).

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · January 18, 2016

May 2016 • Major Choral Event In Dallas!

A tremendously exciting moment in the Catholic musical world!

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · January 7, 2016

The Theology of a C-sharp Minor Chord

Every time I listen to this piece I’m still shocked.

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · December 17, 2015

An Antidote For Clericalism: Sung Vespers

The public singing of Vespers is an antidote to the kind of clericalism frequently condemned by Pope Francis.

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · November 11, 2015

The Sacral Language of Liturgiam Authenticam as Applied to Choral Diction

The Church has its own language and its own culture. Are you a native speaker?

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · October 29, 2015

It’s All About The Players

The social construct of a choir should be like an inverted pyramid.

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · October 15, 2015

The Church Must Be Countercultural

What music is appropriate for a wedding?

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · October 8, 2015

Family and Work: both are full time jobs

My children are now grown, but I’m not about to reveal any family secrets!

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · October 1, 2015

Is this the “Proper” solution for you?

I’ve decided to try an experiment that may work in other parishes.

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · September 24, 2015

Getting the most from your choir: Passion

Passion … is a tremendous engine for achieving the very best results.

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · September 14, 2015

Getting the most from your choir: Preparation

Only by knowing a piece inside and out can we teach it effectively and efficiently.

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · September 8, 2015

“Imagination, Preparation, Passion” • Getting the most from your choir

“The conductor should be able to hear a perfect performance of the piece before it even begins.” —Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · January 15, 2013

Biography • Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Alfred holds a doctorate in choral conducting from Indiana University…

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Music List • (4th Sunday of Lent)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 4th Sunday of Lent (15 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has sublime propers. It is most often referred to as “Lætare Sunday” owing to its INTROIT. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Communion (4th Snd. Lent)
    The COMMUNION ANTIPHON for this coming Sunday, which is the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A), is particularly beautiful. There’s something irresistible about this tone; it’s neither happy nor sad. As always, I encourage readers to visit the flourishing feasts website, where the complete Propria Missae may be downloaded free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Flowers
    Good Friday has a series of prayers for various parties: the pope, catechumens, pagans, heretics, schismatics, and so forth. In the old liturgical books, there was no official ‘name’ for these prayers. (This wasn’t unusual as ‘headers’ and ‘titles’ for each section is a rather modern idea.) The Missal simply instructed the priest to go to the Epistle side and begin. In the SHERBORNE MISSAL, each prayer begins with a different—utterly spectacular—flower. This PDF file shows the first few prayers. Has anyone counted the ‘initial’ drop-cap flowers in the SHERBORNE MISSAL? Surely there are more than 1,000.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation
    It isn’t easy to determine what Alice King MacGilton hoped to accomplish with her very popular book—A Study of Latin Hymns (1918)—which continued to be reprinted in new editions for at least 34 years. This PDF file shows her attempt to translate the DIES IRAE “in the fewest words possible.” There’s a place for dynamic equivalency, but this is repugnant. In particular, look what she does to “Quærens me sedísti lassus.”
    —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
    Grotesque Pairing • “Passion Chorale”
    One of our rarest releases was undoubtably this PDF scan of the complete Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) by Father Joseph Roff, a student of Healey Willan. One of the scarcest titles in existence, this book was provided to us by Mr. Peter Meggison. Back in 2018, we scanned each page and uploaded it to our website, making it freely available to everyone. Readers are probably sick of hearing me say this, but just because we upload something that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wonderful or worthy of imitation. We upload many publications precisely because they are ‘grotesque’, interesting, or revealing. Whereas the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal had an editorial board that was careful and sensitive vis-à-vis pairing texts with tunes, the Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) seems to have been rather reckless in this regard. Please take a look at what they did with the PASSION CHORALE and see whether you agree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Before any seminarian is accepted for ordination, he must not only strive for chastity but actually achieve it. He must already be living chaste celibacy peacefully and for a prolonged period of time—for if this be lacking, the seminarian and his formators cannot have the requisite confidence that he is called to the celibate life.”

— Archbishop Viganò (16 February 2019)

Recent Posts

  • Music List • (4th Sunday of Lent)
  • Consultor to the Vatican Council Enters the Fray • (Vis-à-vis Jeff’s Pipe Organ Assertion)
  • Palm Sunday • “Repertoire for Children’s Choir”
  • PDF Download • Communion (4th Snd. Lent)
  • Most “Congregational” Hymn • (In My Experience)

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