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

Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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

President's Corner

Jeff Ostrowski · September 26, 2021

“Salve Regina” • Organ Accompaniment

Readers already realize that seventeen (17) splendid organ accompaniments for the simple “Salve Regina” can be freely and conveniently downloaded here. But what about the solemn tone for the “Salve Regina”—has anyone composed an organ accompaniment for that? Yes, Canon Jules Van Nuffel has composed one for the solemn version.

Jeff Ostrowski · September 24, 2021

“A Tale Of Two Missals”

Sometimes words are superfluous. Sometimes no commentary is needed. If you look at this Tale of Two Missals (PDF)—which compares the Canon from the “Modern” ICEL Missal with a “Dark Ages” Missal, I think you will understand exactly what I’m getting at.

Jeff Ostrowski · September 23, 2021

23 September 2021 • FEEDBACK

From a reader: “Corpus Christi Watershed is the greatest musical organization ever created in the Church!”

Jeff Ostrowski · September 21, 2021

Church “Narthex” • What’s that?

Do you know what the church narthex is? It’s kind of like a separate room, blocked off by a wall. A buddy of mine (sitting in the narthex) took some iPhone recordings of our congregation singing Vespers. Here’s how they sound sans organ. [Note: Whenever I play for Vespers, I make sure to have some […]

Jeff Ostrowski · September 16, 2021

16 September 2021 • Fulton J. Sheen

Here is a photo of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen celebrating Mass in Jerusalem. That image was included in the “Fulton J. Sheen Sunday Missal” (1961), which was edited by Father Caramen and has an IMPRIMATUR by William Cardinal Godfrey, who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1956 until his death in 1963. The Fulton Sheen […]

Jeff Ostrowski · September 16, 2021

15 September 2021 • Offertory Problem

I submit to you that nothing is gained by these slight variations in the repeats for the Epipany Offertory. The edition is by Carl Ott, a musicologist. Almost nothing is about Carl Ott—as far as I can tell, nobody even knows when Carl Ott was born or when Carl Ott died.

Jeff Ostrowski · September 8, 2021

A Truly Insane Liturgical Practice

In 2013, I began speaking of an insane liturgical practice which was allowed by Pope Pius XII—but nobody realizes this. If you tried to do this at the Traditional Latin Mass, you would most likely be run out of town on a rail. However, for the record, the FULTON SHEEN MISSAL (edited by Father Caraman) […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 31, 2021

31 August 2021 • Unexpected Facts

Yves Chiron claims that Annibale Bugnini was a professor at PIMS (the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome) for ten years, but in 1965 he was forced to resign. If true, this is very odd. Another odd fact: It turns out that Leopold Stokowski, the famous conductor who helped Josef Hofmann found the Curtis […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 27, 2021

27 August 2021 • “DO” a deer?

Giovanni Battista Doni (d. 1647AD) is known for having changed the name of the UT Note—renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that: (1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut” is; and (2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 21, 2021

21 August 2021 • “Roman Numerals”

Take a look at the Introit for tomorrow, the 13th Sunday after Pentecost. When we were in school, we would have gotten in trouble if we wrote “xiiii” as Roman Numerals instead of “xiv”—but you can see this was actually quite common.

Jeff Ostrowski · August 20, 2021

+ Archbishop from Australia

Most Rev’d Dins J. Hart—Archbishop of Melbourne from 2001 to 2018—wrote as follows in 2007: “From my youth I have valued and loved the traditional Mass of the Roman Rite. Since 1970, I have grown to love the Missal of Paul VI. I am delighted that the Missal of Blessed John XXIII has been restored […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 17, 2021

+Di Noia Publicly Denigrates TLM

Archbishop Di Noia recently claimed that the Faithful’s hunger for the Traditional Mass “has gotten totally out of control and become a movement, especially in the United States, France, and England…” The former vice-president of Ecclesia Dei declared that “Pope Francis is right to see in the repristination of the pre-conciliar liturgy at best a […]

Jeff Ostrowski · August 8, 2021

8 August 2021 • “More on the Moræ”

If you look at the 1961 Solesmes Gradual for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, you will see that somebody in the 1960s was trying to figure out the “melismatic moræ vocis” (a.k.a. “Vaticana white notes”) which we have spoken of so frequently on this blog.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 28, 2021

Father Adrian Fortescue on the “Agnus Dei”

Speaking about the AGNUS DEI, Father Fortescue wrote: “Agnus as a vocative is curious, evidently in order to reproduce the original text (John 1:29) exactly.” [Altera die vidit Joannes Jesum venientem ad se, et ait: Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi.] Father Fortescue, as usual, is correct; but in some medieval manuscripts you […]

Jeff Ostrowski · July 25, 2021

List • Responses by each bishop!

This incredible website gives each bishop’s response to the recent MOTU PROPRIO Traditionis Custodes, a decree by Pope Francis which seeks to reduce the number of celebrations of the “Extraordinary Form” (Traditional Latin Mass): traditioniscustodes.info

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 32
  • Page 33
  • Page 34
  • Page 35
  • Page 36
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 42
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Quasi Modo Sunday”
    The Introit for “Quasi Modo Sunday” (12 April 2026) is particularly beautiful. The musical score can be downloaded as a PDF file, and so can the organ accompaniment. The official language of the Catholic Church is Latin (whereas Greek is our mother tongue). Vatican II said Gregorian Chant must be given “first place” under normal circumstances. As a result, some parishes will rightly sing the authentic version. On the other hand, because so many USA dioceses disobey the mandate of Vatican II, some musicians sing plainsong in the vernacular. I have attempted to simultaneously accompany myself on the pipe organ while singing the English version. Although very few take advantage of it, the complete Proprium Missae is posted at the flourishing feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    ‘German’ Introductions for Hymns
    German organ books have an enchanting habit of including introductions for each and every hymn. For example, consider this snazzy example found in a German hymnal published in 1902. In the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal, that melody is called “Laudes Mariae” and was married to Omni Die Dic Mariae, with a popular English translation (“Daily, daily, sing to Mary”) by Father Henry Bittleston, an Oratorian priest. Notice they also added a ‘tailpiece’ or ‘playout’ or postlude at the end—a very German thing to do!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Buckfast Abbey Weighs In
    Dom John Stéphan was a Benedictine monk of Buckfast Abbey in South Devon, England. On 4 February 1933, he published this interesting letter in THE TABLET. Have you seen the exterior of Buckfast Abbey? It’s beyond gorgeous. I doubt there’s a more arresting Abbey in the entire world. Dom Stéphan’s letter is concerning this momentous collection, which our organization obtained, scanned, and uploaded.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    PDF • “Liturgical Law” (467 Pages)
    On Good Friday during the middle ages, the pope privately recited THE ENTIRE PSALTER. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself by reading this passage by Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen (d. 1943). His famous book—called “Liturgical Law: A Handbook Of The Roman Liturgy”—was published by the Benjamin Herder Book Company, which was the American arm (operating out of St. Louis, Missouri) of one of the world’s most significant Catholic publishers. Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen was born in Switzerland but spent his career between the Benedictine monasteries at Conception (Missouri) and Mount Angel (Oregon). His 1931 masterpiece, Liturgical Law can be downloaded as a PDF file … 467 pages!
    —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

Random Quote

“The priest coming nearer to the faithful; communicating with them; praying and singing with them and therefore standing at the pulpit; saying the COLLECT, the EPISTLE, and the GOSPEL in their language; the priest singing in the divine traditional melodies—the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo—with the faithful: these are so many good reforms that give back to that part of the Mass its true finality.”

— Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1965) praising vernacular readings at Mass

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Quasi Modo Sunday”
  • ‘German’ Introductions for Hymns
  • Fascinating Interpretation of the “Regina Caeli” (Solemn Tone)
  • PDF Download • “Sprinkling Rite” + Psalm Verses
  • Buckfast Abbey Weighs In

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

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

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.