Views from the Choir Loft

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 29, 2026

Dom Pothier • Photo from 1904

This is quite a beautiful image.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 29, 2026

PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”

Whence this lack of curiosity?

Jeff Ostrowski · January 28, 2026

PDF • “3-Voice Motet” (Father De Laet)

Motet is defined as: “a short piece of sacred choral music, typically polyphonic and unaccompanied.”

Jeff Ostrowski · January 28, 2026

PDF Download • “Hymn for 2 Voices”

If your choir is very small, this piece is for you!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 26, 2026

PDF Download • “Pange Lingua” for Three Voices (Father Edgard De Laet)

For very small choirs, this arrangement can be sung with one male and two females.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 20, 2026

Music List • (3rd Sund. Ordinary Time)

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

Jeff Ostrowski · January 20, 2026

PDF Download • “Tantum Ergo” for 3 Voices (Kevin Allen) Paired with a Hymn for 2 Voices

The children’s choir I direct loves singing Kevin Allen’s music … as does our adult choir!

Jeff Ostrowski · January 19, 2026

“Holy Name Hymn” (2-Voice Arrangement)

This 2-voice arrangement is free to all.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 19, 2026

PDF Download • Introit (3rd Sn. Ord.)

This coming Sunday—25 January 2026—is the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A).

Corpus Christi Watershed · January 17, 2026

“Information Requested About Hymnals”

The following message was sent to us by a reader…

Jeff Ostrowski · January 17, 2026

“Lamb of God” (Musical Setting)

This makes it possible to adjust based upon who’s singing (at which time of day).

Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2026

PDF Download • Introit (2nd Sn. Ord.)

This mode is ‘serious’ or ‘dark’ or ‘haunting’—but gorgeous.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 13, 2026

PDF • “Dr. Adrian Fortescue: Priest & Musician”

“No one was ever (outwardly) less priestly; no one was ever (inwardly) more thoroughly a priest.” —Edith Cowell

Jeff Ostrowski · January 12, 2026

PDF Download • “Outrageously Rare” Feder Missal (Latin, French, & English) — 3,290 pages!

A gift to our readers, presented in super-high resolution.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 9, 2026

Comm. Fauxbourdon • “What does it sound like?”

Remember the days you prayed for what you have now!

PDF Download • “Eb Organ Postlude”

Gustav Adolf Merkel (d. 1885) was a German organist, teacher, and composer. Although a Lutheran himself, he held the appointment at the (Roman Catholic) Cathedral of Dresden from 1864 until his death. You can download his Organ Postlude in E-Flat, which I like very much. He has an interesting way of marking the pedal notes. What do you think?

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (Palm Sunday, 2026)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC I created for Palm Sunday—a.k.a. “Dominica in palmis de Passione Domini”—which is 29 March 2026. Please feel free to download it as a PDF file if such a thing interests you. The OFFERTORY (Impropérium exspectávit cor meum) is quite moving. Even though the COMMUNION ANTIPHON is relatively simple, the Fauxbourdon makes it sound outstanding.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Easter • Would You Sing This Hymn?

He who examines Laudes Dei: a hymnal for Catholic congregations (St. Louis, 1894) will discover this pairing of a hymn for Easter. For the record, this isn’t the only Catholic hymn book to marry that text and melody; e.g. Saint Mark’s Hymnal for Use in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States (Peoria, 1910) does the same thing. Sometimes an unexpected pairing—chosen with sensitivity—can be superb, forcing singers to experience the text in a ‘fresh’ and wonderful way. On the other hand, we sometimes encounter something I’ve called “PERNICIOUS HYMN PAIRINGS.” If you find the subject in intriguing, feel free to peruse an article I published in May of 2023. As always, my email inbox is open if you have a bone to pick with my take.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns? Do you recognize the tune inserted into the bass line on this score? For many years, we sang the entire Mass in Gregorian chant—and I mean everything. As a result, it would be difficult to find a Gregorian hymn I don’t recognize instantly. Only decades later did I realize (with sadness) that this skill cannot be ‘monetized’… This particular melody is used for a very famous Gregorian hymn, printed in the LIBER USUALIS. Do you recognize it? Send me an email with the correct words, and I promise to tell everybody I meet about your prowess!

—Jeff Ostrowski

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 Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”

For vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses) we use this simpler setting of the “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Monsignor Jules Vyverman (d. 1989), a Belgian priest, organist, composer, and music educator who ultimately succeeded another ‘Jules’ (CANON JULES VAN NUFFEL) as director of the Lemmensinstituut in Belgium. Although I could be wrong, my understanding is that the LEMMENSINSTITUUT eventually merged with “Catholic University of Leuven” (originally founded in 1425). That’s the university Fulton J. Sheen attended.

—Jeff Ostrowski

In 1951 (and again in 1952 and 1955) the Sacred Congregation of Rites gave permission to the bishops of the whole world to celebrate the “Vigil of the Lord’s Resurrection” as much as possible in conformity with the ancient ceremonial: the most noticeable change was to transfer the ceremonies to the late evening of Holy Saturday. During the experimental period the text of the Missal remains unchanged, and a special “Ordo Sancti Sabbati” has been published.

— Charles Richard Anthony Cunliffe (1955)