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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

Keven Smith • Article Archive

Keven Smith is the music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr Catholic Church, an apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) in Sacramento, California. He trains and directs a mixed choir that sings full Gregorian propers, ordinaries, and sacred polyphony at more than 100 traditional Latin Masses per year. Keven lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—Read full biography (with photographs).

Keven Smith · March 24, 2023

Hidden Gem: Ave Regina Caelorum (Steven Talley)

This sweet, simple SATB motet provides a contrast to heavier, darker Lenten repertoire. But it’s going out of season soon.

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Keven Smith · February 21, 2023

Lenten Reflection: Can We Enjoy What Lies Ahead?

Let St. Augustine’s wisdom guide you through the most important season for Church musicians.

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Keven Smith · January 19, 2023

Hidden Gem: Adoro Te Devote (Carlotta Ferrari)

Find out why this motet is simple enough for beginning choirs yet demanding enough to challenge seasoned singers.

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Keven Smith · December 22, 2022

Five Tips for Saving Your Body During Christmas Liturgies

These easy techniques will help you eliminate tension so you can be at your best.

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Keven Smith · October 20, 2022

Hidden Gem: Dormi Jesu (Luc Jakobs)

This striking Christmas motet puts Latin text atop jazzy harmonies to lull Our Infant Lord to sleep.

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Keven Smith · September 9, 2022

The Decaffeinated Choir Director: Yes, It’s Possible

Reflections on one year with no caffeine. Find out what to expect if you try it.

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Keven Smith · August 2, 2022

Need Easy Organ Pieces? Try This Little-Known Composer

Add these fuguettes and trios to your repertoire with minimal practice time.

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Keven Smith · May 27, 2022

On Mistakes (Part II of II)

How we all respond to mistakes can have a huge effect on the cohesiveness and sound of our choirs.

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Keven Smith · May 21, 2022

On Mistakes (Part I of II)

We choir directors can’t eliminate mistakes entirely. But here’s what we can do to minimize them.

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Keven Smith · August 24, 2021

Hidden Gem: Salve Regina (Barkoskie)

Salve Regina is still in season for another three months. You have plenty of time to learn this simple yet satisfying piece.

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Keven Smith · July 19, 2021

7 Keys to Success with Graduale Renovatum

Here’s how to get the most out of this fantastic new resource for interpreting chant rhythm.

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Keven Smith · June 28, 2021

Organ Improvisation: To Record, or Not to Record?

If you missed it, you can hear my iPhone recording on YouTube. But will it be quite the same?

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Keven Smith · June 21, 2021

Hidden Gem: Tantum Ergo II (Kwasniewski)

If you enjoy juicy dissonances and hearing the sun dart in and out of the clouds, you’ll love this modern setting of an ancient text.

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Keven Smith · May 31, 2021

Charles Tournemire: An Organist’s Best Friend

Tournemire’s L’Orgue Mystique is an indispensable resource—especially for organists who are feeling “stuck” in their improvisation.

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Keven Smith · May 18, 2021

On Musicianship: A Thought Experiment for Choir Directors

Teaching sight-singing is important, but let’s not forget that it’s a means to an end.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Funeral Music “Template” • For Families
    Many have requested the MUSICAL TEMPLATE for funerals we give to families at our parish. The family of the deceased is usually involved in selecting Number 12 on that sheet. This template was difficult to assemble, because the “Ordo Exsequiarum” has never been translated into English, and the assigned chants and hymns are given in different liturgical books (Lectionary, Gradual, Order of Christian Funerals, and so on). Please notify me if you spot errors or broken links. Readers will be particularly interested in some of the plainsong musical settings, which are truly haunting in their beauty.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “To Cover Sin With Smooth Names”
    Monsignor Ronald Knox created several English translations of the PSALTER at the request of the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. Readers know that the third edition of the Saint Edmund Campion Missal uses a magnificent translation of the ROMAN CANON (and complete Ordo Missae) created in 1950 by Monsignor Knox. What’s interesting is that, when psalms are used as part of the Ordo Missae, he doesn’t simply copy and paste from his other translations. Consider the beautiful turn of phrase he adds to Psalm 140 (which the celebrant prays as he incenses crucifix, relics, and altar): “Lord, set a guard on my mouth, a barrier to fence in my lips, lest my heart turn to thoughts of evil, to cover sin with smooth names.” The 3rd edition of the CAMPION MISSAL is sleek; it fits easily in one’s hand. The print quality is beyond gorgeous. One must see it to believe it! You owe it to yourself—at a minimum—to examine these sample pages from the full-color section.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Heretical Hymns
    As a public service, perhaps a theologian ought to begin assembling a heretical hymns collection. A liturgical book—for funerals!—published by the Collegeville Press contains this monstrosity by someone named “Delores Dufner.” I can’t tell what the lyrics are trying to convey—can you? I detest ‘hymns’ with lines such the one she came up with: “Let the thirsty come and drink, Share My wine and bread.” Somehow, the publication was granted an IMPRIMATUR by Most Rev’d Jerome Hanus (bishop of Saint Cloud) on 16 August 1989. It’s a nice tune, but paired with a nasty text!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Reminder” — Month of Febr. (2026)
    On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. It couldn’t be easier to subscribe! Just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”
    I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)
    I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

No concession should ever be made for the singing of the Exsultet, in whole or in part, in the vernacular.

— ‘Fr. Augustin Bea, S.J. in the years immediately before the Second Vatican Council’

Recent Posts

  • “Pipe Organ Interlude During Funerals?” • (Reader Feedback)
  • Funeral Music “Template” • For Families
  • “To Cover Sin With Smooth Names”
  • Heretical Hymns
  • Alphabetizing Hymn Titles Inside Hymnals • “Does This Make Any Sense?”

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