Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

Views from the Choir Loft

Jeff Ostrowski • Article Archive

A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004), and did graduate work in Musicology. He serves as choirmaster for the new FSSP parish in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife and children.—Read full biography (with photographs).

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Father Adrian Fortescue on the “Agnus Dei”

Speaking about the AGNUS DEI, Father Fortescue wrote: “Agnus as a vocative is curious, evidently in order to reproduce the original text (John 1:29) exactly.” [Altera die vidit Joannes Jesum venientem ad se, et ait: Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi.] Father Fortescue, as usual, is correct; but in some medieval manuscripts you […]

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List • Responses by each bishop!

This incredible website gives each bishop’s response to the recent MOTU PROPRIO Traditionis Custodes, a decree by Pope Francis which seeks to reduce the number of celebrations of the “Extraordinary Form” (Traditional Latin Mass): traditioniscustodes.info

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Tomorrow is Sunday…

When you were in school, you would have gotten in trouble if you wrote the Roman Numeral “9” as viiii. You were supposed to write: IX. But look how an ancient manuscript writes “9” as a Roman Numeral. That’s the Introit Ecce Deus for tomorrow’s feast in the Extraordinary Form: The 9th Sunday after Pentecost.

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24 July 2021 • “Two Teams”

Anyone familiar with the so-called “Traditionalist Catholic” movement knows that (like every other group) it contains some bad apples. Anyone can self-identify as a “Traditionalist Catholic”—even those who are mentally ill, those who beat their wives, and even folks who are emotionally disturbed. All of us know TLM Catholics who are so arrogant they make […]

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Hymn Lyrics Which Don’t Fit

If we grow up singing hymns, we’re incapable of judging them—because we’re “too close” to them. People who know and love “Abide with me, fast falls the eventide” probably never realized the first word is one of the most egregious examples of incorrect accentuation. (The correct accent for “abide” is on the second syllable, not […]

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12 July 2021 • FEEDBACK

A reader from Chicago writes: “Your work is exemplary, and these past 15 months have put into clear focus for me just how important Corpus Christi Watershed is as an evangelizing voice in the Church. During this pandemic, we have moved away from the ‘big publisher’ psalters, employing nearly exclusively your settings, which (in my […]

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PT Barnum, Henri Herz, + 1,000 candles

In the annals of pianism, there were some fakers: Vladimir de Pachmann, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Leopold de Meyer, and Henri Herz. A hilarious story is told by Harold C. Schonberg about Henri Herz, his manager (Bernard Ullman), and 1,000 candles. I think you will enjoy reading it.

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