• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
    • “Let the Choir Have a Voice” (Essay)
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
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 · September 6, 2021

[re-post] • “Famous Italian Actor Regrets Aborting Son”

“It was the mistake of my life. When I was very young, I had the chance to become a father, but I had my son aborted. Now, I’ve become very strongly against abortion.” —Andrea Roncato

Jeff Ostrowski · September 1, 2021

PDF Download • Bishop Donohoe: “I wish you to definitely confront the priest…”

A bizarre 1976 letter seeks “priest hunters” in the diocese of Fresno.

Jeff Ostrowski · August 31, 2021

31 August 2021 • Unexpected Facts

Yves Chiron claims that Annibale Bugnini was a professor at PIMS (the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome) for ten years, but in 1965 he was forced to resign. If true, this is very odd. Another odd fact: It turns out that Leopold Stokowski, the famous conductor who helped Josef Hofmann found the Curtis […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 28, 2021

“Jaw-Dropping Video” • Never expected to see this!

Someone has located rare video footage from the 1950s and 1960s.

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Jeff Ostrowski · August 27, 2021

Breaking! • Cardinal Cupich Bans “Hail, Mary” Prayer

We are not aware of any Church legislation which prohibits saying the “Hail, Mary” after Mass, but Cardinal Cupich seems not to care.

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Jeff Ostrowski · August 27, 2021

27 August 2021 • “DO” a deer?

Giovanni Battista Doni (d. 1647AD) is known for having changed the name of the UT Note—renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that: (1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut” is; and (2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 27, 2021

PDF Download • “Pater Noster” by Van Nuffel (1937)

Throughout my career, I have tried to follow the advice Cardinal Mercier gave the young Fulton J. Sheen.

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Jeff Ostrowski · August 25, 2021

Lace for an Altar Boy’s Surplice? — Yes? No?

This was viewed 9,000+ times on our Facebook page…

Jeff Ostrowski · August 24, 2021

Church Musicians: The Revolution Starts Today!

Do what’s right, say your prayers, offer each day to Jesus Christ, and hold your head high!

Jeff Ostrowski · August 21, 2021

21 August 2021 • “Roman Numerals”

Take a look at the Introit for tomorrow, the 13th Sunday after Pentecost. When we were in school, we would have gotten in trouble if we wrote “xiiii” as Roman Numerals instead of “xiv”—but you can see this was actually quite common.

Jeff Ostrowski · August 21, 2021

“Homily: 13th Sunday after Pentecost” (EF) • Father Valentine Young, OFM

Some people—when they pray the Our Father—believe the words “Thy will be done” actually mean “My will be done…”

Jeff Ostrowski · August 20, 2021

+ Archbishop from Australia

Most Rev’d Dins J. Hart—Archbishop of Melbourne from 2001 to 2018—wrote as follows in 2007: “From my youth I have valued and loved the traditional Mass of the Roman Rite. Since 1970, I have grown to love the Missal of Paul VI. I am delighted that the Missal of Blessed John XXIII has been restored […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 17, 2021

A Teaching Moment • Including “Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above”

Why on earth does the cost of butter matter?

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Jeff Ostrowski · August 17, 2021

+Di Noia Publicly Denigrates TLM

Archbishop Di Noia recently claimed that the Faithful’s hunger for the Traditional Mass “has gotten totally out of control and become a movement, especially in the United States, France, and England…” The former vice-president of Ecclesia Dei declared that “Pope Francis is right to see in the repristination of the pre-conciliar liturgy at best a […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 14, 2021

PDF Download • “Vespers Booklet” (15 August, Assumption) — 20 pages

Also included, an organ accompaniment (23 pages) for this booklet.

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 75
  • Page 76
  • Page 77
  • Page 78
  • Page 79
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 190
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Good Friday Flowers
    Good Friday has a series of prayers for various parties: the pope, catechumens, pagans, heretics, schismatics, and so forth. In the old liturgical books, there was no official ‘name’ for these prayers. (This wasn’t unusual as ‘headers’ and ‘titles’ for each section is a rather modern idea.) The Missal simply instructed the priest to go to the Epistle side and begin. In the SHERBORNE MISSAL, each prayer begins with a different—utterly spectacular—flower. This PDF file shows the first few prayers. Has anyone counted the ‘initial’ drop-cap flowers in the SHERBORNE MISSAL? Surely there are more than 1,000.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (3rd Sunday of Lent)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 3rd Sunday of Lent (8 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has magnificent propers. Its stern INTROIT (“Óculi mei semper ad Dóminum”) is breathtaking, and the COMMUNION (“Qui bíberit aquam”) with its fauxbourdon verses is wonderful. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)
    I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation
    It isn’t easy to determine what Alice King MacGilton hoped to accomplish with her very popular book—A Study of Latin Hymns (1918)—which continued to be reprinted in new editions for at least 34 years. This PDF file shows her attempt to translate the DIES IRAE “in the fewest words possible.” There’s a place for dynamic equivalency, but this is repugnant. In particular, look what she does to “Quærens me sedísti lassus.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”
    For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Grotesque Pairing • “Passion Chorale”
    One of our rarest releases was undoubtably this PDF scan of the complete Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) by Father Joseph Roff, a student of Healey Willan. One of the scarcest titles in existence, this book was provided to us by Mr. Peter Meggison. Back in 2018, we scanned each page and uploaded it to our website, making it freely available to everyone. Readers are probably sick of hearing me say this, but just because we upload something that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wonderful or worthy of imitation. We upload many publications precisely because they are ‘grotesque’, interesting, or revealing. Whereas the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal had an editorial board that was careful and sensitive vis-à-vis pairing texts with tunes, the Pope Pius XII Hymnal (1959) seems to have been rather reckless in this regard. Please take a look at what they did with the PASSION CHORALE and see whether you agree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

In the Orthodox Churches they have kept that pristine liturgy, so beautiful. We have lost a bit the sense of adoration. They keep, they praise God, they adore God, they sing, time doesn’t count. God is the center, and this is a richness …

— Pope Francis (8/2/2013)

Recent Posts

  • Good Friday Flowers
  • PDF Download • “Entrance Chant” for Holy Thursday (Plainsong in English)
  • “Dies Irae” • A Monstrous Translation
  • PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”
  • Music List • (3rd Sunday of Lent)

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2026 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.