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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 · April 11, 2023

“Truly Bizarre!” • Easter Vigil on Easter Sunday?

Rather than allow the traditional times, the Vatican gave permission to allow the Easter Vigil to be celebrated on the morning of Easter Sunday!

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 7, 2023

Good Friday Hymn • From “Lyra Catholica”

Could 1% of Catholics? Or even fewer than that?

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 1, 2023

Help! • Seeking “Machine Gun” Singing Technique

It was without question the wildest thing I ever heard.

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Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Jeff Ostrowski · April 1, 2023

Three (3) Cheerful Items • “Sacred Music Revolution”

Dallas, Singapore, Los Angeles…there’s so much good in the world!

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 29, 2023

“Seventy-Three (73) Changes” • Which Pope Pius XII Made to Holy Week

If we feel compelled to condemn these changes, let’s at least spend time learning what they are!

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 28, 2023

Three (3) Tricks Every Choir Director Should Learn

Conscientious choirmasters know it’s crucial to get “as much bang for your buck” as possible.

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 27, 2023

Question: “How Do You Read The Official Edition?”

A reader asks: “No Dotted Neumes?”

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 27, 2023

PDF Download • “Organ Accompaniment Booklet” (Passion Sunday Vespers) — 24 pages

Fulton J. Sheen considered Monsignor Knox’s English translation of the Bible to be the greatest ever created.

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 23, 2023

Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide

“In nothing are English Catholics so poor as in vernacular hymns. The real badness of most of our popular hymns (endeared, unfortunately, to the people by association) surpasses anything that could otherwise be imagined.” —Father Fortescue

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 21, 2023

“Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever

As Americans, we’re “bred from birth” to think of ourselves as little gods who already know everything and require no correction.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 21, 2023

Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)

The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 19, 2023

PDF Download • Vespers Organ Accomp. Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent) — 24 pages

This is probably too late … but there’s always next year!

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 18, 2023

Sneaky “Salicus” Statements by Solesmes

Let there be no mistake about it: Dom Mocquereau (illicitly) added the “salicus” in hundreds of places where the official edition has none.

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 17, 2023

“The German Palestrina”

Although it’s a hideous accompaniment, I’ve added the harmonization by Monsignor Franz Nekes to this collection of nineteen organ accompaniments for the Easter Sunday Sequence: Víctimæ Pascháli Laudes. Once upon a time, Monsignor Nekes was a very popular composer, known as “The German Palestrina.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 16, 2023

“Lætáre Jerúsalem” • Introit (4th Sunday of Lent)

Sung according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church.

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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

The liturgical reform bears absolutely no relation to what is called “desacralization” and in no way intends to lend support to the phenomenon of “secularizing the world.” Accordingly the rites must retain their dignity, spirit of reverence, and sacred character.

— Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (5 September 1970)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Roman Catholic Music in England from 1850–1962” — Lengthy Dissertation (402 pages)
  • 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.

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