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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 · 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?

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · May 27, 2015

Where Have All The Organists Gone?

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

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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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Dr. Lucas Tappan · May 12, 2015

The Ingredients of a Choir School (Part II)

A choir school can be an immense help toward our goal of establishing a liturgical choir worthy of its name.

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · May 5, 2015

Choir School Ingredients

Now all you need are some children for the choir. Get started!

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · April 27, 2015

St. Thomas Choir School, NYC

Perhaps if we invested in better music in our parishes the Good New would be spread more effectively.

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · April 21, 2015

“Proper Of The Mass” (Ignatius Press) • Part 6 of 7

If I were to use English settings of the Propers of the Mass, this would be my go-to book!

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · April 13, 2015

The Madeleine Choir School

This institution is truly forming Catholic musicians for the future.

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · April 2, 2015

Sing One Note

When most singers receive a new motet, they focus on the words rather than the music.

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · March 30, 2015

St. Paul’s Choir School, Harvard Square, Boston

Are you a priest, are you a music director? Perhaps God is calling YOU!

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · March 23, 2015

Regensburger Domspatzen

I would still love to see a choir of this quality in every major Catholic church in America.

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · March 19, 2015

Bertalot’s 5 Wheels (Part 2 of 2)

Steer the Car!

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · March 16, 2015

Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum To Sing At Papal Mass

The Schola Cantorum will join the Sistine Chapel Choir, along with a number of other children choirs, to sing for Pope Francis’ Mass on January 6.

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · March 12, 2015

Bertalot’s 5 Wheels (Part 1 of 2)

I have personally reached the point where I am not willing to compromise on this issue with my choristers.

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Dr. Lucas Tappan · March 9, 2015

Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum

This fall, Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School in Kansas will become the third Catholic Choir School in the United States.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Calling Dr. Weaver!

    A remarkable exposition of the “mora vocis” (published in 1953 in the Netherlands) which doesn’t shy away from a certain item!

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

    Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
    The sumptuous melody called “JESU LEIDEN PEIN UND TOD” appears no fewer than three times in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal and is harmonized with standard Common Practice Era SATB voice leading and harmonies (which is only natural). However, one who takes the time to examine what Sebastian Bach did with that tune will encounter an incredibly dissonant sound. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more dissonant sound—in the entire Baroque era—than what I highlighted in yellow on that excerpt. Please let me know if you disagree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    ‘Ould’ But Not Good
    Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026
    A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Time and Again We Are Asked…
    John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Luys de Villafranca, master of the altar boys—who are to be distinguished from the choirboys (“seises”) because they study only plainchant whereas the choirboys live with the chapelmaster and study polyphony and counterpoint as well—is rewarded on October 17 with a salary increase of 6,000 maravedís and an extra 12 bushels of wheat.

— Sevilla Cathedral: Chapter Resolution (7 September 1565)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Roman Catholic Music in England from 1850–1962” — Lengthy Dissertation (402 pages)
  • Why I Never Write Articles for Corpus Christi Watershed Anymore
  • Calling Dr. Weaver!
  • “A Catholic Choir Director’s Decalogue” • Jeff’s Personal Odyssey (10 Points)
  • SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

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