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 · October 23, 2018

Solemn High Mass with Faure’s Requiem on All Souls’ Day

Missa Solemnis to be offered at St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington, DC

Fr. David Friel · October 21, 2018

Participation Booklet (Spanish) for Extraordinary Form Baptisms

Un recurso para facilitar una participación más profunda

Fr. David Friel · October 6, 2018

Participation Booklet for Extraordinary Form Baptisms

A resource for facilitating deeper participation

Fr. David Friel · September 23, 2018

Saint Thérèse Triduum

An Annual Tradition at the Philadelphia Carmel

Fr. David Friel · September 4, 2018

Masses to Begin at FSSP Parish in Philadelphia

This weekend will mark the beginning of Masses offered at the parish.

Fr. David Friel · August 12, 2018

The New Spanish Missal as Opportunity

Seizing the Moment to Sing a Truly New Song to the Lord

Fr. David Friel · July 15, 2018

Society for Catholic Liturgy Conference 2018

To be held 27–29 September 2018, the conference will focus on the legacy of Msgr. Romano Guardini.

Fr. David Friel · July 7, 2018

Music Conference in Rome (September 2018)

The Pontifical Council for Culture will host “Church and Composers, Words and Sounds.”

Fr. David Friel · June 24, 2018

Novena for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Solemn High Mass at Philadelphia Carmel

Fr. David Friel · June 16, 2018

Sacred Music Camp in Allentown, NJ

New Opportunity for Children Grades 3–12

Fr. David Friel · June 10, 2018

Sacred Music Camp for Children in Philadelphia

The Inaugural “Cantate Domino” Festival

Fr. David Friel · May 27, 2018

The Centrality of the Sign of the Cross

The Roman Rite revolves around this sign of our salvation

Fr. David Friel · May 13, 2018

Fota XI Liturgy Conference

This annual conference will be held July 7–9, 2018 in Cork, Ireland.

Fr. David Friel · May 6, 2018

The Wethersfield Institute Chant Workshop

The focus of this workshop is training in the singing, teaching, and directing of Gregorian chant.

Fr. David Friel · April 22, 2018

Spanish Missal Chants Now Available

A collection of fine resources are available from the Domenico Zipoli Institute

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

Music List • (2nd Sunday of Lent)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 2nd Sunday of Lent (1 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has magnificent propers. Its somber INTROIT is particularly striking—using a haunting tonality—but the COMMUNION with its fauxbourdon verses is also quite remarkable. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.

—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

PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)

I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.

—Jeff Ostrowski