Views from the Choir Loft

Beauty

In Which a Neo-Pagan Converts

Andrea Leal · January 29, 2020 ·

I could feel that this Glory was immense, and mysterious, and real. But I could not quite grasp what that meant for me or what I should even do about it.

Roger Scruton, Magister Pulchritudinis

Fr. David Friel · January 20, 2020 ·

Sir Roger Scruton died January 12, 2020, leaving a mammoth legacy in the field of aesthetics.

The Gratuity of Beauty

Fr. David Friel · November 9, 2019 ·

Thoughts on the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Art of the Beautiful Lecture Series 2019-2020

Fr. David Friel · September 24, 2019 ·

A project of The Catholic Artists Society in NYC

Formed in Beauty Lectures

Fr. David Friel · January 27, 2019 ·

Videos have been posted from the 2017 & 2018 conferences of the Catholic Art Guild

Should Liturgy Be Practical?

Fr. David Friel · January 14, 2018 ·

A Thought from G.K. Chesterton

Two Articles Worth Reading

Fr. David Friel · April 2, 2017 ·

On “Liturgiam authenticam” and the Crisis in Art

Dunwoodie Chant Conference • Review of a Successful Event

Fr. David Friel · March 15, 2017 ·

I was renewed in spirit for a future filled with hope for liturgical music.

A CD from on High for Benedictines in Tasmania

Veronica Brandt · March 11, 2017 ·

A new CD you don’t have yet full of beautiful music raising funds for bringing more beautiful music to Tasmania.

The Purpose of Art

Fr. David Friel · February 26, 2017 ·

Considerations from Tolstoy

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski