Views from the Choir Loft

Articles

Corpus Christi Watershed · February 4, 2013

Christmas at Christ the King (late!)

This blog seemed to good to pass up, even though it is no longer Christmastide . . .

Fr. David Friel · February 3, 2013

Divine Intimacy

To Be Fully Known

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 31, 2013

Conservatism and Traditionalism

There is a problem that continues to slow down the pace of genuine reform and renewal in the Church, and that is the predominance of conservatism.

St. Edmund Campion Missal and Hymnal · January 31, 2013

First Look! • Campion Missal and Hymnal for the Laity

This article first appeared on 13 Jan 2013.

Andrew R. Motyka · January 30, 2013

I am not worthy

In which I forget parts of the Mass Ordinary and try to get through it anyway.

Cynthia Ostrowski · January 29, 2013

Catholic Line Art, Black and White • Installment #04

I will be releasing hundreds of these B/W religious line art drawings for free and instant download. These beautiful Catholic “woodcuts” were done with magnificent skill.

Fr. David Friel · January 27, 2013

Confessing Our Sins

How Do You Say…

Jeff Ostrowski · January 26, 2013

Tribute To Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt

“There is only one way—to be a man of prayer and a man of faith: to be a man in love with and imbued with Christ’s life.”

Richard J. Clark · January 25, 2013

Full and Active Preparation – ora et labora

For the sacred musician, full and active participation not only includes mindfulness during mass . . .

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 24, 2013

Musical Harmony Softens Hard Hearts

Saint Hildegard of Bingen, pray for us!

Cynthia Ostrowski · January 23, 2013

Catholic Line Art, Black and White • Installment #03

I will be releasing hundreds of these B/W religious line art drawings for free and instant download.

Richard J. Clark · January 23, 2013

A Simple SSA Offering

A beautiful model of the evangelization we must do in our churches and faith communities

Corpus Christi Watershed · January 21, 2013

Homiletic & Pastoral Review: Article by Fr. Friel

As I prayed these prayers from the new missal for the first time on January 3, 2012, I was struck nearly dumb . . .

Jeff Ostrowski · January 20, 2013

Babies, Toddlers, And The Sacred Liturgy

I can only imagine what would happen if I brought home a friend home without preparation or planning.

Fr. David Friel · January 20, 2013

The Mass

Miracle or Magic?

“Entrance Chant” • 3rd Sunday of Easter

You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Third Sunday of Easter (4 May 2025). Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. The authentic version—on the words ómnis térra—sounds exactly like the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. However, it only sounds that way if you follow Dom Mocquereau’s rhythm, which adds syncopation (in spite of the fact that Mocquereau claimed to abhor syncopation). The Germans do not syncopate the rhythm. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reminder” — Month of April (2025)

On a daily basis, I speak to people who—though they’ve followed our blog for years—don’t realize we publish a free newsletter. 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. Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • Easter Sunday

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the Easter Sunday (20 April 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Several of the selections are quite beautiful.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

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).

—Corpus Christi Watershed

“Dom Pothier does not belong to the dim past, as the silence which surrounds his name would lead one to believe. Only a few years separate us from the time when—growing old and heavily burdened by trials—Dom Pothier was concentrating his ever keen attention on the study of manuscripts in the Belgian place of retreat where his community had found refuge. For he was the abbot; and there can be no doubt that the cross he wore during those days was a cross of sorrow, though he bore it with a smile.”

— Dom Ermin Vitry, OSB (31-OCT-1936)