• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Corpus Christi Watershed

A monthly subscription fee of $4.95 gives access to the entire website. Thank you for supporting our efforts!

  • Member Log In
    • My Account
    • “Receipts + Invoices” (Subscribers)
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
    • “A New Chapter” • Subscriptions!
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Miscellaneous
      • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
      • “Let the Choir Have a Voice” (Essay)
      • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
      • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
      • The Eight Gregorian Modes
      • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
      • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
      • Seven (7) Considerations
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Donate
  • Cart
Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download

Jeff Ostrowski · July 23, 2026

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!

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 22, 2026

“A Catholic Choir Director’s Decalogue” • Jeff’s Personal Odyssey (10 Points)

Is there anyone on the planet willing to pretend he doesn’t understand the plain meaning of those words?

Jeff Ostrowski · July 19, 2026

SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 16, 2026

Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!

There is no more dissonant chord than this in the entire Baroque era!

Mark Haas · July 8, 2026

PDF Downloads • “16 Gorgeous SAB Motets”

The following collection offers a variety of Latin and English motets

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 7, 2026

PDF Download • “Singers’ Music Booklet” (15th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Meet Dr. Horst Buchholz and Kevin Allen!

Jeff Ostrowski · July 3, 2026

Organist and Choirmaster (Birmingham Oratory)

You simply must play this chord!

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 2, 2026

‘Ould’ But Not Good

Not everything found in an old book is necessarily praiseworthy.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 1, 2026

PDF Download • Vocal Warm-Up for Choirs — “Harmonized Minor Scale” Exercise

This was used by Father Edgard De Laet as a vocal warm-up for his choirs.

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.

Jeff Ostrowski · June 30, 2026

“Website Subscriptions” • (Update: 30 June 2026)

A small subscription. An enormous library. An eternal tradition.

Jeff Ostrowski · June 29, 2026

Unbelievable (Yet Undeniable) Reality Re: Our Current Lectionary • PDF Included—124 Pages

Giving away to readers—on 29 June 2026—my ultimate treasure!

Jeff Ostrowski · June 26, 2026

PDF Download • New Westminster Hymnal (472 pages) “Transcribed” — 34,600 words!

Some consider this the single most valuable book we ever scanned and uploaded.

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.

Jeff Ostrowski · June 25, 2026

Music List • (15th Sund. Ordinary Time)

Readers have expressed interest in examining my “music list” for Sunday (12 July 2026).

Jeff Ostrowski · June 23, 2026

Shortest Psalm In The Bible

The Germans did something splendid here!

Jeff Ostrowski · June 23, 2026

“Christ The King Hymnal” (Keyboard Edition) • All English Translations Typed Out—22,000 words

Back in 2015, we carefully scanned and uploaded this rare keyboard accompaniment for Father Knauff’s “Christ the King Hymnal” (published in Canada).

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 61
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Calling Dr. Weaver!
    I believe Dr. Charles Weaver will be interested in this! Published in the Netherlands in 1953, it explains how the mora vocis is treated by the official edition. It even treats the PONS ASINORUM: viz. the “mystery virga” added by the Vatican Commission on Gregorian Chant—which was not found in any previous edition by Dom Pothier. You can download this 1953 document (PDF), with a rough translation from Dutch into English. For the record, one particular sentence (“Gregoriaanse volkzang is massazang”) is difficult to interpret. Are there any Dutch speakers out there? They reference melismata when they say: “if two notes stand over a single syllable.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.
    Many organists are forced to serve simultaneously as both CANTOR and ACCOMPANIST. In spite of what some claim, this can be difficult—which explains why choirmasters appreciate ‘simplified’ keyboard accompaniments. I was asked to create a very simple arrangement of the famous hymn melody called SLANE, which is normally paired with “Lord of All Hopefulness” or “Be Thou My Vision.” You can download this as a PDF file (and you will see it’s mainly in 3 voices). I used the pitch level requested—but if you want a lower key, email me. However, be careful; lowering “Be Thou My Vision” too much makes it difficult for those who have a higher voice.
    —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

In the United States, Archbishop Kenrick had said in his “Moral Theology” that it was acceptable to sing the “Véni Sáncte Spíritus” before the sermon.

— Monsignor Schmitt (1977)

Recent Posts

  • 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.
  • “Taking Over an Inner City School Choir” • Rebecca’s Story

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Footer

CONTACT • Corpus Christi Watershed

1 (747) 218-8005
chabanel.psalms@gmail.com
Corpus Christi Watershed
8118 Etienne Dr
Corpus Christi, TX 78414

Copyright © 2026 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized by the state of Texas on 19 October 2006. Our statement of purpose notes that we “employ the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.”