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Corpus Christi Watershed

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Views from the Choir Loft

Our Editorial Policy

UST BECAUSE YOU SEE something published on our website, that doesn’t mean all our contributors agree with it. Nor does it de facto mean our editorial team endorses it. In the olden days, music journals often published opposing viewpoints. Here at Corpus Christi Watershed, we sometimes follow that tradition. Needless to say, we would never permit views contrary to the holy Catholic Faith—but when it comes to musical matters, we don’t rule out opposing views. Those bothered by disagreements (e.g. disagreements over plainsong rhythm) should skip those articles. Our volunteers have produced something like 40,000 PDF scores, Mp3 files, and rehearsal videos. Therefore, there’s plenty of variety for everyone to enjoy on our blog!

Over the years, we’ve received
beautiful emails of encouragement.
We cherish such messages.

Submitting a Guest Article:

We welcome guest submissions! (Remember that not every submission will be published.)

Formatting Your Submission • We have good reasons for our requirements. We want your article to look sensational. You’ve probably noticed our blog entries are usually tiny “works of art”—rather than “cut and paste.” If you employ special formatting, your article might have a greater chance of being rejected. Please avoid any special formatting. By “special formatting,” we mean text that has been aligned to the right or center, funky line spacing, footnotes, endnotes, and/or anything else that won’t display correctly on the various web browsers (and iPhones) that read our blog articles. However, if it is absolutely necessary, you may include a paragraph or so in blockquote:   <blockquote></blockquote> Your submission ought to look like this. On our blog, it will actually turn out like this.

Final Reminders • Please send a picture along with your submission. If you don’t have a picture, please indicate what sort of picture you’d like, and we’ll take care of the rest. Using bold letters, underlined text, or colored text is not allowed. If you wish to emphasize a particular idea, careful and skilled writing will suffice. It is allowed to use italics, but you must add them yourself, using the following code:   <em></em> Your blog submission ought to be sent to us in one of the following formats:

(a) .TXT document  (b) .DOC file  (c) .PDF document

Please email your submissions to us: chabanel@ccwatershed.org.

No Taking Down:

Articles’ Permanence • Upon acceptance for publication on the CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED website, articles and musical scores are considered a permanent part of our archive and will not be removed. As a 501(c)3, we will not allocate donor-funded resources toward retroactively ‘unpublishing’ content or repairing the broken links such removals would inevitably create across our site. It would also annoy readers to have scores and articles appear only to disappear later.

Suppose you submit an article (or musical score), declaring: “I want you to publish my creation, but only for 896 days. After 896 days have elapsed, I will rescind my permission, and the content must be removed.” We will never accept terms or ‘provisos’ like that. Needless to say, we do reserve the right to remove articles for any reason—or for no reason at all. During our twenty-year history, such a thing has happened (although it’s extremely rare).1

1 For example, we published some articles by a particular musician. Later on, this person was caught engaging behavior that was. As a result, all contributions by that person were removed. While we regret publishing them in the first place, we cannot be expected to know the future.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.

    Do you know ‘SLANE’ the hymn tune?

    To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Subscription or Yearly Subscription.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
    The sumptuous melody called “JESU LEIDEN PEIN UND TOD” appears no fewer than three times in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal and is harmonized with standard Common Practice Era SATB voice leading and harmonies (which is only natural). However, one who takes the time to examine what Sebastian Bach did with that tune will encounter an incredibly dissonant sound. As far as I’m concerned, there is no more dissonant sound—in the entire Baroque era—than what I highlighted in yellow on that excerpt. Please let me know if you disagree.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of July (2026)
    On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). Since we were founded in 2006, not one of our board members has ever accepted any remuneration whatsoever—not a penny. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. It couldn’t be easier to subscribe! Just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    ‘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
    “Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026
    A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Time and Again We Are Asked…
    John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

These prayers were not peculiar to Good Friday in the early ages (they were said on Spy Wednesday as late as the eighth century); their retention here, it is thought, was inspired by the idea that the Church should pray for all classes of men on the day that Christ died for all. Duchesne is of opinion that the “Oremus” now said in every Mass before the Offertory—which is not a prayer—remains to show where this old series of prayers was once said in all Masses.

— Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)

Recent Posts

  • SLANE • “Simplified” Keyboard Arr.
  • “Taking Over an Inner City School Choir” • Rebecca’s Story
  • Insane Baroque-Era Dissonance!
  • Explanation of Gregorian Chant • “Using Words Mama Can Understand”
  • “Reminder” — Month of July (2026)

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CONTACT • Corpus Christi Watershed

1 (747) 218-8005
chabanel.psalms@gmail.com
Corpus Christi Watershed
8118 Etienne Dr
Corpus Christi, TX 78414

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized by the state of Texas on 19 October 2006. Our statement of purpose notes that we “employ the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.”