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Corpus Christi Watershed

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Views from the Choir Loft

Dr. Tappan • Article Archive

Dr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four children.—Read full biography (with photographs).

Dr. Lucas Tappan · October 6, 2015

The Power of Good Music

Please, please don’t ever underestimate the power of good music to touch hearts in either the work of evangelization or catechesis.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · September 29, 2015

Solfege

I feel that solfege is the fastest and most secure route to establishing the scale and the way its notes function within that scale in the minds of singers.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · September 23, 2015

The Art of Breathing

If there are only two concepts you are able to instill in a child in the early stages regarding breathing, they would be 1) fill and empty the stomach with air just like a balloon (don’t use the chest) and 2) keep the shoulders down and relaxed.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · September 8, 2015

Teaching New Singers

I like to cover (or re-cover) all of the basics with the boys and girls.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · August 25, 2015

Another Job For Your Children

Simply dive in and do it. Remember how quickly your children grew up and left home? That is all the longer it takes.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · August 20, 2015

One Man I Would Give My Right Arm To Meet In Person

“This honest, magnanimous and public statement made my struggle totally worthwhile.” —Colin Mawby

Dr. Lucas Tappan · August 4, 2015

A Must Have For The Choir Director’s Shelf

This book is invaluable for the church musician.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · July 30, 2015

A Few More Thoughts on the Chorister Audition

At the end of the audition, most of the students experience a great sense of accomplishment and really consider it an honor to be accepted into the choir!

Dr. Lucas Tappan · July 20, 2015

Should Children Have To Audition?

There is a proper balance between an impossibly hard formal audition and the usual “any child can join” policy that exists in the typical parish children’s choir.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · July 6, 2015

A Must Have Resource for Catholic Schools

Pastors and music directors, this is for you!

Dr. Lucas Tappan · June 25, 2015

Surprised By Beauty

It had been over a decade since I had set foot in St. John Cantius—enough time to forget that one never can tell what beautiful surprise awaits unsuspecting visitors.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · June 17, 2015

A Musical Diet

I realize what I propose seems like moving forward at a snail’s pace, but considering how long the average parishioner has been in the liturgical and musical desert, anything more would cause the musical equivalent of refeeding syndrome.

Dr. Lucas Tappan · June 9, 2015

Musical Green Eggs and Ham

Considering the great gift Mother Teresa had been to the world, I had to wonder why her sisters chose something as dubious as “Shepherd Me, O God” to be sung at her funeral?

Dr. Lucas Tappan · May 27, 2015

Where Have All The Organists Gone?

What will you do to keep the art of organ playing alive?

Dr. Lucas Tappan · May 19, 2015

One Sure Way To Destroy Your Child’s Musical Potential

If you couldn’t sing, you wouldn’t be able to talk.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Proof Which All Can Immediately See!
    “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” as the famous maxim goes. Over the years, I’ve observed malicious attacks on the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. Rather than scoring a ‘hit’ on the Brébeuf Hymnal, its attackers often reveal profound ignorance. I’ve been advised never to reply … but I break that rule today. Certain voices online assert that the Brébeuf Hymnal is “untraditional” because it includes both the Urbanite and pre-Urbanite versions of the hymns. But if only they would glance at a copy of the 1913 VESPERALE (printed by order of Pope Saint Pius X) they would see how mistaken such statements are.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “8 June 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for the parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article includes a few anecdotes about Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and Abraham Lincoln.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Gloria in Spanish” • Free Accompaniment
    Several people have requested an organ accompaniment for the GLORY TO GOD which prints the Spanish words directly above the chords. The Spanish adaptation—Gloria a Dios en el cielo—as printed in Roman Misal, tercera edición was adapted from the “Glória in excélsis” from Mass XV (DOMINATOR DEUS). I used to feel that it’s a pretty boring chant … until I heard it sung well by a men’s Schola Cantorum, which changed my view dramatically. This morning, I created this harmonization and dedicated it to my colleague, Corrinne May. You may download it for free. Please let me know if you enjoy it!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“Leave the Mass alone. Our churches are full—the Protestants, in spite of their vernacular, far otherwise.”

— Cardinal Godfrey (one of the Vatican II fathers)

Recent Posts

  • Proof Which All Can Immediately See!
  • New Bulletin Article • “8 June 2025”
  • “The Adalbert Propers” • Six (6) Quotations
  • PDF Download • “Entrance Chant” for 29 June … Which Falls on a Sunday This Year!
  • “Music List” • 6th Sunday of Easter (Year C)

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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.