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Corpus Christi Watershed

We’re a 501(c)3 public charity established in 2006. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and run no advertisements. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors.

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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 · January 20, 2020

Comparison • “1909 Missal vs. 1999 Missal”

A picture is truly worth 1,000 words!

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 20, 2020

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM — R.I.P.

Father Valentine Young, OFM—a faithful Catholic priest—died on 17 January 2020 around 8:00am.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 17, 2020

A quote from Fr. Valentine

Speaking of “nihil solliciti estis,” Fr. Valentine recently said: “I’ll bet that most people, including myself, have suffered more from things that never happened than from things that actually did happen.” Wise words!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 16, 2020

Circle is complete

This is interesting! We have made it all the way around the liturgical year for Vespers organ accompaniments—which means all we have to do now is fill in the “holes,” such as Candlemas.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 16, 2020

(2007) Fr. Valentine Young Speaks About Religious Habits In The 1960s

I desire to post more of these fascinating videos, as soon as I can find the time.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 16, 2020

Fr. Valentine is very sick

I beg you to pray for Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, who I am told is dying (or may possibly have died already). He’s one of the most faithful & generous priests I know. There would be no CCWatershed without Fr. Valentine.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 16, 2020

Website progress update

As of 15 January 2020, the website is still under construction. We have made progress, but there is still much to do. We thank James Doherty and Veronica Brandt for their generous assistance!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 15, 2020

What Palestrina Did With Kyrie II (“Fons Bonitatis”)

Many erroneously believe the Kyrie was the only thing troped, but that’s not even close to true.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2020

A very serious issue

So few Catholics—even those who self-identify as “traditional” Catholics—give consideration to the sins of detraction, gossip, and libel. Some hide behind fake online identities and publish the most vile, dishonest material. Even though these hypocrites think they are “hidden,” God sees everything. By the way, never visit Twitter: it’s not a good place for one’s […]

Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2020

A Phenomenal Epiphany Hymn!

I wish Epiphany lasted forever—the hymns are rich with theology!

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2020

Chocolate as payment?

Church musicians realize we’re currently in tough times, but even the greatest artists did not have everything “exactly as they desired.” Vladimir Horowitz (one of the greatest pianists) was often paid for his concerts with CHOCOLATE instead of money. The Russian economy was awful, and nobody had money. But Horowitz didn’t want chocolate; he wanted […]

Jeff Ostrowski · January 7, 2020

JMO Copy (inviolable) St. Jean de Lalande Library of Rare Books

JMO Copy (inviolable) St. Jean de Lalande Library of Rare Books “The judicious searcher in this remarkable online collection will certainly reap great rewards for his effort.” — Fr. Robert A. Skeris, Benjamin T. Rome School of Music (CUA) HE SAINT Jean de Lalande Library is derived primarily from Jeff Ostrowski’s personal collection of rare […]

Jeff Ostrowski · December 31, 2019

Hymn • “A Solis Ortus Cardine” (In English)

The Church’s greatest hymn? Many believe it’s this one.

Jeff Ostrowski · December 30, 2019

PDF Accompaniment • “Jesu Redemptor Omnium”

You can compare my accompaniment to that of Achille P. Bragers.

Jeff Ostrowski · December 24, 2019

Video • “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

Older Catholic hymnals did funny things with this melody.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt

Random Quote

A hymn verse need not be a complete sentence, but it must have completed sense as a recognisable part of the complete sentence, and at each major pause there would be at least a “sense-pause.” Saint Ambrose and the early writers and centonists always kept to this rule. This indicates one of the differences between a poem and a hymn, and by this standard most of the modern hymns and the revisions of old hymns in the Breviary stand condemned.

— Fr. Joseph Connelly

Recent Posts

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  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III

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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.

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