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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 · May 15, 2014

How To Sing The Gregorian Alleluia

The Alleluia can be confusing, especially during Eastertide.

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Jeff Ostrowski · May 14, 2014

Truly Marvelous Image of Saint Isaac Jogues

This lovely image is courtesy of D.F. — taken at Georgetown University.

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Jeff Ostrowski · May 11, 2014

How I Learned What Liturgy Really Is

Congregations in South Texas normally applaud for the musicians during Mass.

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Jeff Ostrowski · May 9, 2014

An Unexplained Problem

I’m unaware of ANY other liturgical occurrence like this one.

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Jeff Ostrowski · May 5, 2014

PDF Download: Ordo Lectionum Missae & Ordo Cantus Missae

“…otherwise the entire Mass might be placed into the vernacular; whereupon the Council fathers burst into uproarious laughter.” — Cardinal Stickler speaking of Vatican II

Jeff Ostrowski · May 1, 2014

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Liturgical Translations

This is no hybrid: it’s an elegant, accurate, modern, unified English translation of the Graduale!

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 25, 2014

Thirteen (13) Organ Accompaniments to “Missa de Angelis” (Mass VIII)

Free PDF downloads for “Mass of the Angels” organ accompaniments • Henri Potiron (1950), Achille Bragers (1937), Dr. Eugene Lapierre (1946), Franz Xaver Mathias (1906), Dr. Peter Wagner (1905), Monsignor Leo P. Manzetti (1906), Julius Bas (1906), and more+

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 22, 2014

More unites us than divides us!

Musicians tend to be very “picky” people who don’t get along with one another.

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 18, 2014

Proclaim the Passion in a “Theatrical” Manner?

Scripture at Mass is an act of worship: it is not purely didactic, nor is it a make-believe drama that we must re-enact with emotion.

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 15, 2014

PDF Download: The Fulton J. Sheen Sunday Missal (1961)

Archbishop Sheen did not produce this Missal alone: it was a joint effort by many, especially the Jesuit priests Rev. Philip Caraman and Rev. James Walsh.

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 15, 2014

Live Recording — Small Choir of Ninth Grade Singers (October, 2006)

What can one say about the “Art of the Fugue” by J. S. Bach? Marvelous. Simply marvelous.

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 7, 2014

Preconciliar Missal Allowed Mass “Versus Populum”

These same exact rubrics have been found in Missals published in 1962, 1927, 1943, 1906, and 1886.

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 6, 2014

Are Hymns Boring?

I love hymns … sung properly, that is!

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 1, 2014

Courses In The Ward Method … This Summer!

This summer, the Catholic University of America is offering training in the Ward method.

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 30, 2014

Audrey Hepburn, Fulton J. Sheen, & Church Singers Who Can’t Read Music

Do you direct choir members with flaws? Do you direct choir members who can’t read music? BE COMFORTED!

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    “Reminder” — Month of July (2026)
    On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). Since we were founded in 2006, not one of our board members has ever accepted any remuneration whatsoever—not a penny. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. It couldn’t be easier to subscribe! Just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (15th Sund. Ordinary Time)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), which is 12 July 2026. Please feel free to download it as a PDF file if that appeals to you. The hymns chosen are some of the most ‘traditional’ I have chosen (and were chosen by our pastor). The ENTRANCE CHANT radiates pure bliss, overflowing with joy.
    —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

“But of all the influences which have power to restore the past, none works upon us more easily than the gift of song. Among all its mysterious qualities (and it is probably the most mysterious thing in all our common experience) music is distinguished by this, that a tune or a phrase carries with it the associations amidst which it was first, or most familiarly heard. It can bring tears to the eyes, or quicken the action of the heart, by a power not its own; it has roots in the memory.”

— Monsignor Ronnie Knox (1947)

Recent Posts

  • Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
  • Explanation of Gregorian Chant • “Using Words Mama Can Understand”
  • “Reminder” — Month of July (2026)
  • “Reader Feedback” • 9 July 2026
  • PDF Downloads • “16 Gorgeous SAB Motets”

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