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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 · December 24, 2014

Musical Resources • Christmas Midnight Mass

We will NOT be singing “Frosty The Snowman” for Offertory!

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 24, 2014

“Don’t Cross Out Christ On Christmas” — Wrong!

This myth shows great ignorance of ancient (Roman Catholic) manuscripts!

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 23, 2014

PDF Download: Rossini “Parochial Hymnal” (1936)

Your Christmas present from Corpus Christi Watershed!

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 22, 2014

Pope Paul VI • “Sacrificum Laudis” (15 Aug 1966)

The most progressive pope imaginable who’s given the Church a new direction? Are they aware of this letter?

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 19, 2014

Musical Resources • 4th Sunday of Advent

Christmas draws nigh!

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 18, 2014

PDF Download: Dominican Breviary From 1967

The book is so large, it must be downloaded in sections.

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 18, 2014

Solemn High Christmas Midnight Mass • Hollywood

Oh, please help us spread this exciting news!

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 17, 2014

PDF Download: Hymns of the Dominican Missal & Breviary • Fr. Aquinas Byrnes (1943)

Containing literal and poetic translations, author biographies, meter explanations, and much more!

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 17, 2014

How Well Did Your Parents Know The Mass?

PDF Download: Order of Mass (Latin & English) printed in THE CROWN HYMNAL of 1911.

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 15, 2014

“The Gloves Are Off” — Jonathan Gruber & The Traditional Mass

“The faith of many was quite infantile, I would say.” —Paul Inwood, talking about preconciliar Catholics

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 13, 2014

“The Experience After The Council Was So Strong And In Some Cases Violent…” —Cardinal Burke

6 December 2014 interview with Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke by GloriaTV.

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 13, 2014

Musical Resources • 3rd Sunday of Advent

Including “Creator Alme Siderum” with English Translation by Rev. Adrian Fortescue.

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 11, 2014

What They Didn’t Tell You About Psalm Tone VIII

Even the “Liber Usualis” omits critical information about Tone VIII.

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 10, 2014

Review: An English Gradual (Belmont Abbey, 2013)

For myself, I prefer the liturgy entirely in Latin or entirely in the vernacular. Others will disagree.

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Jeff Ostrowski · December 9, 2014

Any Hope For Modern Catholic Hymnody? Yes!

Major publishers include Haugen’s verse “not in some heaven, light-years away”—what can be done about it?

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
    The sumptuous melody called “JESU LEIDEN PEIN UND TOD” appears no fewer than three times in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal and is harmonized with standard Common Practice Era SATB voice leading and harmonies (which is only natural). However, one who takes the time to examine what Sebastian Bach did with that tune will encounter an incredibly dissonant sound. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more dissonant sound—in the entire Baroque era—than what I highlighted in yellow on that excerpt. Please let me know if you disagree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    ‘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
    Time and Again We Are Asked…
    John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

When you consider that the greatest hymns ever written—the plainchant hymns—are pushing the age of eight hundred and that the noble chorale hymn tunes of Bach date from the early eighteenth century, then what is the significance of the word “old” applied to “Mother at Thy Feet Is Kneeling”? Most of the old St. Basil hymns date from the Victorian era, particularly the 1870s and 1880s.

— Paul Hume (1956)

Recent Posts

  • Why I Never Write Articles for Corpus Christi Watershed Anymore
  • Calling Dr. Weaver!
  • “A Catholic Choir Director’s Decalogue” • Jeff’s Personal Odyssey (10 Points)
  • SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.
  • “Taking Over an Inner City School Choir” • Rebecca’s Story

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