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Corpus Christi Watershed

We’re a 501(c)3 public charity established in 2006. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and run no advertisements. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors.

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Views from the Choir Loft

Articles

Jeff Ostrowski · October 28, 2020

PDF Download • Beautiful Requiem Mass Image

“Every diocese, almost every church, had its own customs. Our present rule dates from the revived missal of 1570.”

Jeff Ostrowski · October 27, 2020

“New” Cracked Altar Defaces Baroque Church

This travesty has been called “extensive restoration.”

Jeff Ostrowski · October 27, 2020

ICEL added “Died” to the Nicene Creed • (I am not kidding!)

I bet you never noticed this, but here’s the proof! • Believe it or not, the Nicene Creed never says Our Lord “died,” and this article provides full documentation; also included are beautiful manuscript images from the greatest Dutch illuminated manuscript in the world: Catherine of Cleves Hours (15th century MS.)+

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Keven Smith · October 26, 2020

Quick Vocal Tip: The Yawn Breath

Looking for a speedy way to help your choir get into good placement for singing? The yawn breath encourages healthy phonation.

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Jeff Ostrowski · October 25, 2020

“Homily for the Feast of Christ the King” (EF) • Father Valentine Young, OFM

In many of His parables and teachings, Christ let us know that His Kingdom on earth was always what I am going to call “an unfinished product.”

Jeff Ostrowski · October 23, 2020

PDF Download • Extremely Simple (Yet Gorgeous) Polyphonic Funeral Mass

These rehearsal videos were recorded by one person, and he apologizes for the poor singing quality…

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Corpus Christi Watershed · October 22, 2020

PDF Download • “Mass Propers for Weekdays, Commons, and Saints” (1,294 pages)

Useful links as a “follow-up” to Mæstro Clark’s article about Fr. Weber’s plainsong settings.

Guest Author · October 21, 2020

Heresy du Jour? • (Orig. Published in 2019)

In the early XIXth century the Duke of Wellington, speaking of infantry battles, is said to have exclaimed, “All soldiers run away. The good ones come back.”

Keven Smith · October 20, 2020

Helping “Tone-Deaf” Men Match Pitch

(Keven Smith) • Ever had a man express interest in your choir, only to discover that he has trouble matching pitch? You may just need to unlock his high range. Here’s how I’d approach the situation • James C. McKinney is mentioned+

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Jeff Ostrowski · October 19, 2020

19 October 2020 • Feast of Father Brébeuf

When the young priest saw the burnt and bleeding body of his superior, aghast and trembling he spoke the words of St. Paul: “We are made a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men.”

Jeff Ostrowski · October 18, 2020

Dom Pothier • “To The Eyes And To The Ears”

For years, I couldn’t understand this business about “the eyes and the ears.” What did Pothier mean? Then it hit me. • Topics include Dom Joseph Pothier, the mora vocis, Abbot Pothier’s brother (Dom Alphonse Pothier), Dom Lucien David, Dom Paul Jausions, and a truly magnificent story about Pope Pius X and Abbot Pothier, which is essential reading+

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Richard J. Clark · October 16, 2020

Indispensable & Accessible: Fr. Samuel F. Weber Propers in English

Indispensable and accessible: these antiphons possess sublime elegance that grace the Novus Ordo Mass with simple, yet proper reverence and solemnity.

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Jeff Ostrowski · October 16, 2020

The “Mora Vocis” • What is that?

The “Pre-NOH” editions have quite an idiosyncratic way of lengthening the neumes. • Fulsome illustrations are included examining and explaining the mora vocis of the Vatican edition; also mentioned is Dom André Mocquereau, Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val, and Pothier’s Liber Gradualis (1883)+

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Jeff Ostrowski · October 13, 2020

PDF Download • “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord” (Responsorial Psalm)

Including a written tutorial on how to perform Chabanel Psalms correctly.

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Keven Smith · October 13, 2020

How to Stay Prayerful as a Church Musician

It all boils down to recollection. This 39-page book will help. (And so will one weird trick with your computer, as the clickbaiters would say.)

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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

Random Quote

“Since the English is not meant to be sung—but only to tell people who do not understand Latin what the hymn text means—a simple paraphrase in prose is sufficient. The versions are not always very literal. (Literal translations from Latin hymns would often look odd in English.) I have tried to give in a readable, generally rhythmic form the real meaning of the text.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “2025 Booklet for Participants for the Sacred Music Symposium” — (155 pages)
  • Luis Martínez Must Go!
  • Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
  • PDF Download • “Gospel Acclamation” for 29 June (Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles)
  • “Hybrid” Chant Notation?

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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.

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