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Views from the Choir Loft

Quick Thoughts

Jeff Ostrowski · August 20, 2026

Preface of Saint Joseph (added by the pope)

You can see the “Præfatio de Sancto Joseph” inserted directly into the priest’s missal.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 31, 2026

“Predictable Rhymes?” • A Follow Up

We received considerable correspondence regarding my article: “Two Ways to Defile a Hymn.”

Jeff Ostrowski · July 2, 2026

‘Ould’ But Not Good

Not everything found in an old book is necessarily praiseworthy.

Corpus Christi Watershed · June 22, 2026

“Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026

“I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted…” —A reader in Virginia

Jeff Ostrowski · June 11, 2026

Time and Again We Are Asked…

(1880s) Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 1, 2026

“Reminder” — Month of June (2026)

Since a new month has arrived, it’s my pleasure to remind you that…

Jeff Ostrowski · May 8, 2026

“Thee” + “Thou” + “Thine”

Regarding approval for the “Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition).”

Jeff Ostrowski · May 5, 2026

Simplified Version • “Canon in D” (Pachelbel)

I don’t care what people say; I love this piece!

Jeff Ostrowski · April 14, 2026

PDF Download • “Anima Christi”

I received a request for this organ accompaniment…

Jeff Ostrowski · April 6, 2026

PDF • “Liturgical Law” (467 Pages)

Dom Charles Augustine Bachofen was born in Switzerland but spent his career between the Benedictine monasteries at Conception (Missouri) and Mount Angel (Oregon).

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 24, 2026

“Gregorian Chant Quiz” • 24 March 2026

How well do you know your Gregorian hymns?

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 21, 2026

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

A wonderful option for smaller choirs.

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 7, 2026

PDF Download • “Holy, Holy, Holy”

This is what we use for vigil Masses on Saturday (a.k.a. “anticipated” Masses).

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 5, 2026

Grotesque Pairing • “Passion Chorale”

Were you shocked to see the Pius XII Hymnal (1959) assigning vernacular hymns to different parts of the Mass?

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 3, 2026

PDF Download • “Ubi Caritas” (SATB)

A wonderful option for smaller choirs.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Our Father” (1 page)
    Dutch organist, teacher, and conductor HERMAN STRATEGIER (d. 1988) studied under Hendrik Andriessen. He composed this unison setting with organ accompaniment for the LORD’S PRAYER (“Our Father”) which a children’s choir would find both within reach and worthy of the effort. The whole thing fits neatly on a single page. Strategier eventually became organist of Saint Catherine’s Cathedral in Utrecht. He also taught at the “Dutch Institute for Catholic Church Music” (Nederlands Instituut voor Katholieke Kerkmuziek).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Organ Interlude” (Manuals Only)
    Monsignor Franciszek Walczyński (d. 1937) was a Polish composer. If you play the pipe organ, I encourage you to try out this ORGAN INTERLUDE FOR MANUALS ONLY (1-page PDF) which he composed. Walczyński taught plainsong at the seminary in Tarnów (about 50 miles east of Kraków). With his brother Stanisław—also a Catholic priest—he initiated the Saint Adalbert Society for the Support of Church Music, which ran annual workshops for their diocese. In July of 1894 (more than a decade before the appearance of the Editio Vaticana) Walczyński lectured on “congregational singing and Gregorian Chant.” On top of all that, Monsignor Walczyński founded an organists’ school in Tarnów and the SAINT ADALBERT CHOIR at the cathedral.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Eucharistic Prayer No. 2 on Sundays?

    Highlighted in yellow (on this single-page PDF file) is documentation concerning whether the 2nd Eucharistic prayer may be used on Sundays.

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    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Preface of Saint Joseph (added by the pope)
    It is not possible to claim that the MISSALE ROMANUM has not been changed since the Council of Trent. Obviously, many feasts were added. In 1919, several PREFACES were added. What did that look like in actual practice? A sheet of paper had to be inserted into the missal, which looks like this. At the bottom of the page, there’s a decree in Latin. Translated into English: Our Most Holy Lord Pope Benedict XV, upon the advice of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and also out of his own devotion toward Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Catholic Church, has approved the above-written proper Preface, to be used henceforth everywhere in Masses of the same Saint Joseph, and has ordered that it be duly inserted in future editions of the Roman Missal (9 April 1919). The heading “URBIS ET ORBIS” is the formal classification of a decree binding on Rome and on the whole Latin Church, as opposed to decrees for a particular diocese or religious order.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Predictable Rhymes?” • A Follow Up
    We received considerable correspondence regarding my article, Two Ways to Defile a Hymn. More specifically, what really raised certain people’s hackles was its follow-up article dealing with the keyboard accompaniment for the CHRIST THE KING HYMNAL. But to quote Eliza Doolittle: “Have I said anything I oughtn’t?” Please examine this PDF file and see whether you agree. Were the editors of the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL incorrect to insist upon sophisticated and clever rhymes, rather than mind-numbingly predictable rhymes?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    ‘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

Random Quote

There is a lack of that kind of organization which favors mature judgment. Move on, move on, get it out. Schemata are multiplied without ever arriving at a considered form. The system of discussion is bad … Often the schemata arrive just before the discussions. Sometimes, and in important matters, such as the new anaphoras, the schema was distributed the evening before the discussion was to take place … Father Bugnini has only one interest: press ahead and finish.

— Cardinal Antonelli (Peritus during the Second Vatican Council)

Recent Posts

  • The Vanishing Art of Knowing Hymns • We Seek a Hymn “Expert” (Not Just a Hymn “Enthusiast”)
  • Preface of Saint Joseph (added by the pope)
  • PDF Download • “Our Father” (1 page)
  • Composer Isabella Quintana: “Christ my teacher, Christ my healer, Christ my Savior.” • (Guest Article)
  • PDF • “Organ Interlude” (Manuals Only)

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