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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.”

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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 · September 3, 2020

WW2 post at 3:30am = 10k views?

The internet is a very strange thing. I have spent hundreds of hours on certain articles—usually about hymn voice leading—and they get virtually no attention. But last night at 3:30AM I posted an image from WW2 from 9 April 1944 (showing a priest saying Mass with soldiers) and it was viewed 10,000 times on the […]

Jeff Ostrowski · September 2, 2020

Holy Mass During World War II • (9 April 1944)

German troops included in American Easter Sunday Mass via loud-speaker.

Jeff Ostrowski · September 1, 2020

PDF Download • “Communion Antiphon” (with organ accompaniment)

An exciting new project gives me great hope for the “musical future” of the Catholic Church!

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 1, 2020

“Homily — 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A” • Father Valentine Young, OFM

“Examining the life of Jesus, we discover that He acted differently in different circumstances.”

Jeff Ostrowski · August 28, 2020

“Resplendent Beyond Reckoning” • Sherborne Missal (1399AD)

As the Isaac Jogues Missal would do 650 years later, this Missal provides pictures of the priest during the Canon!

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 28, 2020

Video Excerpt • “Fastest Organ Pedals I’ve Ever Seen!”

I’m jealous of anyone who can play the organ pedals so fast!

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 26, 2020

Josef Hofmann • “Pianist Par Excellence”

Anton Rubinstein, who hated child prodigies, called Josef Hofmann “the greatest musical genius the world has ever known.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 26, 2020

25 August 2020 • A 20-minute Mass?

Some erroneously attack the Extraordinary Form by claiming that before Vatican II “priests rushed through Low Mass in less than 20 minutes.” Well, during the pandemic, we have had Mass without the reception of Communion by the Faithful—and it makes duration of Mass surprisingly shorter. On feasts with no GLORIA, no CREED, and no HOMILY, […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 25, 2020

“Homily — 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A” • Father Valentine Young, OFM

“Catholic teaching says we should pray for people who die. If we were sure they were in heaven, that wouldn’t be necessary—so let’s be consistent in our teaching.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 23, 2020

Huge Discovery! (Not a Joke) • Re: “Gradual Antiphons vs. Missal Antiphons”

Last night I discovered something I never knew—so I immediately telephoned a priest to verify this.

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 21, 2020

“Secret Book of Happiness” • Official English Translations of the Roman Gradual

Overkill: “ too much of something; the amount by which destruction exceeds what is necessary.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 19, 2020

Clarity! • Missal vs. Gradual Text (Ordinary Form)

If this problem is to be solved, we must first understand it.

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 19, 2020

JP2 said in June of 1980…

Pope Saint John Paul II said in June of 1980: “To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms—especially from Gregorian chant—a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.”

Jeff Ostrowski · August 19, 2020

18 August 2020 • Fr. Fortescue wins!

The index for the Brébeuf hymnal has beautiful capital letters, and I had previously believed our creation to be unique. However, it seems Fr. Adrian Fortescue beat us. (Deep sigh.) You can see that the index for his book, Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, is quite beautiful, and uses the capital letters I spoke […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 18, 2020

“Homily for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost” (EF) • Father Valentine Young, OFM

“I considered myself privileged to be Pastor at one of the places in Houck, Arizona, where Saint Katherine Drexel built a church and grade school.”

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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

It is unworthy that the stone holds Him, Who encloses everything in His hand, Locked in by the forbidding rock. (“Indígnum est cujus claudúntur cuncta pugíllo | Ut tegat inclúsum rupe vetánte lapis.”)

— SALVE FESTA DIES (Eastertide)

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)

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