Views from the Choir Loft

“Pater Noster” by Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel

Jeff Ostrowski · May 8, 2018

AVE YOU applied to the 2018 Sacred Music Symposium, to be held in June? If not, why not? We have accepted 75 singers, but a few spots still remain. Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity! For example, participants will sing a marvelous composition by Msgr. Jules Van Nuffel, whose artistry has inspired everything in my musical career, ever since I first discovered him in 1998, thanks to Dr. Daniel Politoske. ¹

This breathtaking “Our Father” will close the Symposium:

HAVE recorded rehearsal videos for each individual line, and you can access them at the following website, along with information about the PDF score:

* * PATER NOSTER (Rehearsal videos) …Search for number 89161

For example, here’s my practice video for the TENOR voice:

Those who attend the Symposium this year will learn how I create rehearsal videos like those. You owe it to yourself to visit that web link, listen to some rehearsal videos, and consider whether you should apply for the 2018 Sacred Music Symposium.

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 Jules Van Nuffel composes using a “contemporary” (modern) harmonic language, as opposed to, for example, a Romantic, Baroque, or Classical style. There are also “contemporary” (living) composers who attempt to imitate former styles—but Jules Van Nuffel does not fall into that category.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music Director Job • $80,000 per year

Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published

Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Pope Pius XII Hymnal?

Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

“Hybrid” Chant Notation?

Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

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