Views from the Choir Loft

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 8, 2019

PDF Download • Spectacular “Tenebrae” Booklet

Mr. Albert Bloomfield has done us a breathtaking favor.

Jeff Ostrowski · April 4, 2019

PDF Download • Mystery Kyriale (100 Pages)

Nobody knows the author or date of publication.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 22, 2019

PDF Download • “Chant Service Book” (208 pages)

An extremely rare book from 1941, containing all your favorite Gregorian chants!

Jeff Ostrowski · December 22, 2018

PDF Booklet • Christmas Midnight Mass (36 pages)

It looks so simple when placed in a booklet like that…

Veronica Brandt · December 1, 2018

PDF Download • “Easy Organ Interludes” (229 pages)

Giovanni Battista Fasolo published an enormous book of organ interludes without pedals • Pierre Gouin typed them up, bringing you this clear window into renaissance liturgical music for free! • Enjoy this treasure trove of organ music from almost 400 years ago! Plus a few highlights from along the way+

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Jeff Ostrowski · November 15, 2018

PDF Download • Mass Hymns by Fr. Seed, SJ (1906)

How utterly strange to see such items!

Jeff Ostrowski · November 6, 2018

PDF Download • “Pope Pius XII Hymnal” (1959)

Very few people have a copy of this incredibly rare Catholic hymnal.

Jeff Ostrowski · October 30, 2018

“Source Material” • The Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal

We assembled a staggering number of Catholic hymnals and selected only the very best material from each.

Jeff Ostrowski · October 15, 2018

PDF Download • “Sanctus” (SATB) by JS Bach!

Wow … I bet you’ve never heard this piece before!

Jeff Ostrowski · October 2, 2018

PDF Download • SATB Christmas Carol by Peter Lejeune • “Jam Désinant Suspíria”

I recorded all the voices, to demonstrate how it sounds…

Jeff Ostrowski · August 13, 2018

PDF Download • “Leeds Catholic Hymnal” (232 pages)

A hymnal out of print for fifty years has been scanned by Mr. Colin E. Jackson!

Jeff Ostrowski · August 7, 2018

PDF Download • “Sunday Vespers”

…including a failed descant from 1983.

Jeff Ostrowski · May 1, 2018

PDF Download • A “Bright” Eucharistic Hymn

Could there be a nicer hymn than this? It is fresh and glorious.

Jeff Ostrowski · March 27, 2018

PDF Download • Organ Accompaniment for “Vexilla Regis” (Hymn) by Fr. Adrian Fortescue

When I saw this page, my opinion of Fortescue went down—but then I remembered…

Jeff Ostrowski · March 6, 2018

PDF Download • Rare German Hymnal (879 pages)

Most German hymnals we’ve come across contain words only—but this one has harmonies!

Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

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