Views from the Choir Loft

Father Friel • Article Archive

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.—(Read full biography).

Fr. David Friel · July 4, 2014

Colloquium Update II

Resources for Accompanying Gregorian Chant

Fr. David Friel · July 3, 2014

Colloquium Update I

All the things I love about the Colloquium experience are here in force: an extraordinary faculty, magnificent liturgies, good fellowship, etc.

Fr. David Friel · June 29, 2014

Strong with God’s Strength

Saints Peter & Paul

Fr. David Friel · June 22, 2014

Archbishop Sample’s Letter On Sacred Music (7 of 8)

May the Archbishop’s reflections & exhortations bear fruit in practical renewal!

Fr. David Friel · June 15, 2014

Gregory the Great Academy

An Interview with Matt Williams

Fr. David Friel · June 8, 2014

Pentecost: Babel, Tongues, & Latin

Do churchgoers of my generation—who, largely, have no experience of Latin in the liturgy at all—even recognize the gift that has been lost?

Fr. David Friel · June 1, 2014

Liturgy & Clericalism

Love of liturgy—and, specifically, employment of its traditional forms—is not clericalism.

Fr. David Friel · May 29, 2014

Living for Heaven

The Ascension as Our Model

Fr. David Friel · May 25, 2014

150 Years of Sacred Music

A Philadelphia History

Fr. David Friel · May 18, 2014

Collected Works of Joseph Ratzinger

Beginning with Liturgy

Fr. David Friel · May 11, 2014

Does a Liberal Arts Education Have Any Value?

Without the visual arts, music, theater, architecture, and the like, future generations will have no sense of culture.

Fr. David Friel · May 4, 2014

Parish May Crownings

A strong devotional life in the parish church will naturally support and strengthen its liturgical vitality.

Fr. David Friel · April 27, 2014

The Mercy of God Makes Saints

Unmasking the Media’s Mythical Divide Between Popes

Fr. David Friel · April 20, 2014

Book Review: Killing Jesus

Was It Worth the Read?

Fr. David Friel · April 17, 2014

A Priest’s Litany of Thanksgiving

A Preparation for the Celebration of Holy Thursday

“Samaritánæ” (3rd Sunday of Lent)

With regard to the COMMUNION for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year A), the Ordo Cantus Missae—which was published in 1969 by the Vatican, bearing Hannibal Bugnini’s signature and approbation in its PREFACE—inexplicably introduced a variant melody and slightly different words, as you can see by this comparison chart. When it comes to such items, they’re always done in secrecy by unnamed people. (Although it is known that Dom Eugène Cardine collaborated in the creation of the GRADUALE SIMPLEX, a book considered by some to be a travesty.)

—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 • “Cantus Mariales” (192 pages)

Andrea Leal has posted an absolutely pristine scan of CANTUS MARIALES (192 pages) which can be downloaded as a PDF file. To access this treasure, navigate to the frabjous article Andrea posted Monday. The file is being offered completely free of charge. The beginning pages of the book have something not to be missed: viz. a letter from Pope Saint Pius X to Dom Pothier, in which the pope calls Abbat Pothier “a man versed above all others in the science of liturgy, and to whom the cause of Gregorian chant is greatly indebted.”

—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

Extreme Unction

Those who search Google for “CCCC MS 079” will discover high resolution images of a medieval Pontificale (“Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 079”). One of the pages contains this absolutely gorgeous depiction of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”

I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”

—Jeff Ostrowski