Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download

Jeff Ostrowski · March 3, 2026

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

A wonderful option for smaller choirs.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 3, 2026

PDF • “Cantus Mariales” (192 pages)

This gorgeous PDF scan is being offered completely free of charge

Andrea Leal · March 2, 2026

PDF Download • Fourteen (14) Versions of the Splendid Hymn: “Salve Mater Misericordiae”

My favorite Gregorian hymn for Lent!

Jeff Ostrowski · February 27, 2026

Music List • (2nd Sunday of Lent)

Readers have expressed interest in examining my “music list” for this coming Sunday.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 27, 2026

PDF Download • “Funerals in the Ordinary Form”

Many have requested the following document (which governs any funerals at my parish).

Corpus Christi Watershed · February 27, 2026

Extreme Unction

Gorgeous depiction of this Sacrament found in an ancient manuscript.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 27, 2026

Like! Like! Like!

You’ll never guess who gave us a “like” on Facebook!

Jeff Ostrowski · February 26, 2026

Which Mass?

“Qualislibet cantus hujus Ordinarii superius in una Missa positus…”

Jeff Ostrowski · February 24, 2026

PDF Download • “Pange Lingua” in Simple (Contemporary) Polyphony for Three Voices

This arrangement of the “Pange Lingua” (which contains the famous “Tantum Ergo” verse) works quite well.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 23, 2026

PDF Download • “Gregorian Chant Booklet” mailed by Pope Saint Paul VI to every bishop

Father McManus makes no exception for hearing-impaired or deaf Catholics; his decree is absolute.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 19, 2026

PDF Download • “Atténde Dómine”

“Atténde Dómine” in Spanish, English, and Latin.

Corpus Christi Watershed · February 18, 2026

(Ash Wednesday) • Medieval Illumination Depicting the Distribution of Ashes

Discovered by those who edited the third edition of the Campion Missal.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 17, 2026

Music List • (1st Sunday of Lent)

Readers have expressed interest in examining my “music list” for this coming Sunday.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 15, 2026

2-Voice Arrangement for Lent

A wonderful hymn tune by Kevin Allen (the legendary American composer of sacred music).

Jeff Ostrowski · February 12, 2026

“Sanctus VIII” • Organ Accompaniment

In French, it is called “Messe de Anges.”

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

I remember singing “Ubi Cáritas” by Maurice Duruflé at the conservatory. I was deeply moved by it. However, some feel Duruflé’s version isn’t suitable for small choirs since it’s written for 6 voices and the bass tessitura is quite low. That’s why I was absolutely thrilled to discover this “Ubi cáritas” (SATB) for smaller choirs by Énemond Moreau, who studied with OSCAR DEPUYDT (d. 1925), an orphan who became a towering figure of Catholic music. Depuydt’s students include: Flor Peeters (d. 1986); Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel (d. 1953); Arthur Meulemans (d. 1966); Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989); and Gustaaf Nees (d. 1965). Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #19705. When I came across the astonishing English translation for “Ubi Cáritas” by Monsignor Ronald Knox—matching the Latin’s meter—I decided to add those lyrics as an option (for churches which have banned Latin). My wife and I made this recording to give you some idea how it sounds.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “Cantus Mariales” (192 pages)

Andrea Leal has posted an absolutely pristine scan of CANTUS MARIALES (192 pages) which can be downloaded as a PDF file. To access this treasure, navigate to the frabjous article Andrea posted Monday. The file is being offered completely free of charge. The beginning pages of the book have something not to be missed: viz. a letter from Pope Saint Pius X to Dom Pothier, in which the pope calls Abbat Pothier “a man versed above all others in the science of liturgy, and to whom the cause of Gregorian chant is greatly indebted.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (2nd Sunday of Lent)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for this coming Sunday, which is the 2nd Sunday of Lent (1 March 2026). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has magnificent propers. Its somber INTROIT is particularly striking—using a haunting tonality—but the COMMUNION with its fauxbourdon verses is also quite remarkable. I encourage all the readers to visit the feasts website, where the Propria Missae may be downloaded completely free of charge.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Extreme Unction

Those who search Google for “CCCC MS 079” will discover high resolution images of a medieval Pontificale (“Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 079”). One of the pages contains this absolutely gorgeous depiction of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”

I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)

I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.

—Jeff Ostrowski