Corpus Christi Watershed

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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).

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1950s Mandatory Military Service? Huh?

I would be very curious to know what readers think about this claim made by Patrick J. Buchanan. He says military service in the 1950s was obligatory in the United States. Is this true? Let me know your thoughts by scrolling to the bottom of this page, where an email address is provided. Patrick J. […]

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“No Fourth Sunday of Advent” (EF)

In the Extraordinary Form (“Missale Vetustum”) because Christmas falls on a Monday in 2023, the Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord takes precedence over the Fourth Sunday of Advent. This usually only happens about every six years or so. I will miss the 4th Sunday of Advent, but the VIGIL Mass is also quite […]

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When just 13 years old, Beethoven……

Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC) was not officially published until 1801. By that time, many hand-copied manuscripts had circulated through Europe. According to Charles Rosen: “Beethoven, at the age of 13, played the entire WTC in public.” His feat was published in the newspapers of that time. In my view, both books of the WTC—with a […]

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Jeff As Organist? • His Attempt…

I’m attempting to record (on the pipe organ) any hymn contained in the Brébeuf Hymnal which doesn’t yet have its own rehearsal video with real voices. You can listen to my latest attempt: a hymn called DEVONSHIRE. For the second verse, I attempted to change the registration. Please let me know what you think. I […]

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Playing Pipe Organ = Very Difficult!

Not every hymn contained in the Brébeuf Hymnal has its own rehearsal video. In the meantime, I’m attempting to provide pipe organ recordings for the missing hymns. Today, I attempted to record COBLENZ, with a harmonization based on Sir Richard R. Terry. You can listen to my recording by clicking here. Whenever the record button […]

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PDF • “Mass Propers in English” (113 pages)

The University of Kansas has made available—as a free PDF document—this 2017 dissertation (113 pages) by Dr. Katherine Schmitz. The full title of the dissertation is: Chanting the Propers: A Comparative Study of Selected English Sources for the Catholic Mass. Dr. Schmitz is a Gregorian Chant scholar who has earned degrees from the University of […]

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