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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). He completed studies in Education and Musicology at the graduate level. Having worked as a church musician in Los Angeles for ten years, in 2024 he accepted a position as choirmaster for Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Michigan, where he resides with his wife and children. —Read full biography (with photographs).

Jeff Ostrowski · August 11, 2016

Hymn Tunes • What’s Up With Naming Them?

Until recently, most Catholic hymnals didn’t have a metrical index!

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 10, 2016

Worst Typo Of All Time?

This one got by the editor’s eye!

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 9, 2016

Too Many Sopranos? Try This Canon!

A compositional miracle by Rev’d Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611).

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 8, 2016

Being Careful With Hymns

Each individual “ear” must decide what is acceptable.

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 6, 2016

Interesting Points in this Sunday’s Offertory

Do you understand why I’ve highlighted various points?

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 3, 2016

The “Long & Short” of Latin Hymns

Such underlay would be considered loathsome by composers like Guerrero. Indeed, it’s an impossibility!

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 2, 2016

Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli in Cappa Magna

Anyone care to hazard a guess regarding why a blue biretta would have been used circa 1933?

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 1, 2016

Does Your Bishop Enforce The GIRM?

They will assume—and why shouldn’t they?—that “approved by the USCCB” applies to the hymns and songs…

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 30, 2016

Why is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?

“To the historian their decisions are disgusting nonsense that people of my kind want simply to ignore.” — Fr. Adrian Fortescue (1919)

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 27, 2016

Letter To A Volunteer Choir…

The singers know their individual contribution is essential.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 27, 2016

Musical Resources • 11th Sunday after Pentecost

“…pour forth Thy mercy upon us, to take away from us those things which our conscience feareth…”

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 26, 2016

Victoria Alleluia • Extraordinary & Ordinary Form

If your priest requires the congregation sing the “Alleluia,” there’s a nice way to do this.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 24, 2016

Musical Resources • 10th Sunday after Pentecost

“O God, Who dost chiefly manifest Thy power in forbearance and mercy…”

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 20, 2016

PDF Download • St. Cecilia Hymnal (1937)

Like all the books we release, this extremely rare hymnal was previously unavailable until we scanned and uploaded it.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 17, 2016

Showdown in Arkansas over “Ad Orientem”

The Bishop of Little Rock has sent a letter (14 July 2016) forbidding his priests to celebrate Mass “ad orientem.”

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Absolutely ‘Perfect’ Voice-Leading?

    This brief passage seems (in my humble opinion) to be a delightful specimen.

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Calling Dr. Weaver!

    A remarkable exposition of the “mora vocis” (published in 1953 in the Netherlands) which doesn’t shy away from a certain item!

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

    Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

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    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Predictable Rhymes?” • A Follow Up
    We received considerable correspondence regarding my article, Two Ways to Defile a Hymn. More specifically, what really raised certain people’s hackles was its follow-up article dealing with the keyboard accompaniment for the CHRIST THE KING HYMNAL. But to quote Eliza Doolittle: “Have I said anything I oughtn’t?” Please examine this PDF file and see whether you agree. Were the editors of the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL incorrect to insist upon sophisticated and clever rhymes, rather than mind-numbingly predictable rhymes?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    ‘Ould’ But Not Good
    Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026
    A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“It is difficult to imagine a more unjust situation than abortion, and it is very difficult to speak of obsession in a matter such as this, where we are dealing with a fundamental imperative of every good conscience—the defense of the right to life of an innocent and defenseless human being.”

— Pope St. John Paul II

Recent Posts

  • “Predictable Rhymes?” • A Follow Up
  • Absolutely ‘Perfect’ Voice-Leading?
  • “The Choirmaster Survey” • Update on 29 July 2026
  • “Progress Report” (With Samples) • Forthcoming Roman Catholic Hymnal In Spanish
  • PDF Download • “Roman Catholic Music in England from 1850–1962” — Lengthy Dissertation (402 pages)

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