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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 · July 28, 2020

Goal Met • Why We’re Grateful To Our Readers

The pop-up has been taken down…plus, a small gift to our readers!

Jeff Ostrowski · July 23, 2020

PDF Download • “Holy Week and Easter with Gregorian Chant” (797 pages)

Supremely rare Belgian book with Gregorian Chant!

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 22, 2020

22 July 2020 • Five Recent Messages

We are asking our readers to give $5.00 per month (or even $3.00 per month) so we can keep our website online. Here are five recent messages from donors: (#1) Your site is a Godsend. It must continue. I am a church mouse but I can afford $5 a month. Let’s help keep the beautiful […]

Jeff Ostrowski · July 22, 2020

21 July 2020 • From a Musicology PhD…

To you and your colleagues who helped produce the Brébeuf hymnal, I wanted to drop a line to say “bravo.” I just got a copy and immediately ordered the choral supplement (I ought to have just gotten it in the first place). What an achievement this book is! This is the sort of hymnal one […]

Jeff Ostrowski · July 21, 2020

“Pope Pius XII Psalter” • How different was it?

If this had caught on, every chant book—along with every psalm setting of Palestrina, Victoria, Morales, Guerrero, etc.—would have become “garbage” overnight.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 17, 2020

PDF Download • “Label Your Luggage”

Religious instruction from Fr. Robert Nash, SJ. (1943 Imprimatur)

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 14, 2020

PDF Download • “Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Mass”

The fourth installment—“Mass settings that work well, even with a single cantor + organist.”

Jeff Ostrowski · July 14, 2020

Wonderful emails received recently…

(#1) “Thank you for all the great work you do to provide music and rehearsal videos for all of us to use! It has been invaluable to those music and choir directors who’ve had to build a Gregorian chant schola from scratch! May God continue to bless all you do to promote sacred music for […]

Jeff Ostrowski · July 13, 2020

1,055 Images • “Paramentica Liturgical Design”

When we pray from a book which is special, beautiful, and dignified, it helps us focus.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 12, 2020

Honesty and Integrity

Someone who made a generous donation wrote as follows: While I sometimes strongly disagree with the content or tone of the blog article authors, I, as a parish music director, have used CCWatershed’s resources countless times and have always found the site to be an excellent source of high-quality Sacred Music, which is very hard […]

Jeff Ostrowski · July 12, 2020

Two Settings • “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”

Imagine trying to read from a score like this!

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 10, 2020

Featured • “To All Who Care About CCWatershed”

During my 9 years as president, you know I never ask for assistance unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 8, 2020

Can These Youngsters Save Catholic Music?

This remarkable piece by Father Victoria contains a mind-blowing canon between upper voices!

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 8, 2020

“Just how Tridentine are you?” • Quiz by GIA Publications

GIA’s 2004 article Re: “masses of yesteryear” seems absurd on this 13th Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 5, 2020

Two remarkable (radical) liturgical realities … which few realize!

It’s interesting to compare the literal translations in the Brébeuf Hymnal to those done by Solesmes Abbey during the 1950s.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Pipe Organ “Answers” in Plainsong?
    In 2003, I copied a book by Félix Bélédin (d. 1895), who was titular organist—from 1841 to 1874—at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Lyon (France). In 2008, we scanned and uploaded the book to the Lalande Online Library. Nobody knows for sure when the book was published; some believe it first appeared in the 1840s. In any event, one who examines this excerpt, showing GLORIA IX might wonder why it says the organ answers in plainsong. However, the front of the book explains, telling the organist explicitly when to “respond in plainchant.” This is something called organ alternatim. Believe it or not, the pipe organ would take turns with the choir, playing certain texts instrumentally instead of having them sung. I’m not very well-versed in this—pardon the pun—but if memory serves, ORGAN ALTERNATIM was frowned upon by the time of Pope Saint Pius X. Nevertheless, French organists kept doing it, even after it was explicitly condemned as an abuse.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (5th Sunday of Lent)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 5th Sunday of Lent (22 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Traditionally, this Sunday was called ‘Passion’ Sunday. Starting in 1956, certain church leaders attempted rename both ‘Passion’ Sunday and ‘Palm’ Sunday—but it didn’t work. For example, Monsignor Frederick McManus tried to get people to call PALM SUNDAY “Second Passion Sunday”—but the faithful rejected that. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • (Holy Thursday, 2026)
    Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Holy Thursday, which is 2 April 2026. If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a more piercingly beautiful INTROIT, and I have come to absolutely love the SATB version of ‘Ubi cáritas’ we are singing (joined by our burgeoning children’s choir). I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026
    How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!
    —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
    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

Random Quote

“If we continue to tolerate sad examples of liturgical abnormalities, experimentation, abuse, and simply poor-quality liturgies, why should we single out those connected to the ancient rites of the Church for special vigilance? It just doesn’t seem right.”

— An Example of a response (sent to Pope Francis) Re: the TLM

Recent Posts

  • “Catholic Priest Saying Mass” • Medieval Illumination
  • From Sentiment to Sacrament: Reclaiming Sacred Music for the Wedding Mass
  • Pipe Organ “Answers” in Plainsong?
  • “Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026
  • “Versions of the Psalter” • Jeff Interviews Top Biblical Scholar: Dr. Mark Giszczak

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