Views from the Choir Loft

Beauty

Fr. David Friel · June 15, 2014

Gregory the Great Academy

An Interview with Matt Williams

Fr. David Friel · March 30, 2014

Saints Who Were Artists

A Catalog

Fr. David Friel · March 23, 2014

Secular Architecture

Reneging on the Promise of Public Art

Fr. David Friel · March 16, 2014

Being Amazed

The Fullness of Beauty

Fr. David Friel · February 23, 2014

St. Therese on Beauty

The Divine Artist of souls is pleased when we do not stop at the exterior.

Fr. David Friel · February 16, 2014

Movie Review: The Monuments Men

Not Great Art, Itself, But Nevertheless Thought-Provoking

Fr. David Friel · January 24, 2014

The Art of the Beautiful Lecture Series

Professor Anthony Esolen Presents: “Love & Artistic Genesis”

Fr. David Friel · January 12, 2014

The International Institute for Culture

“For the Love of Music” Series

Fr. David Friel · December 29, 2013

Singing as a Work of Mercy

The Doylestown Comfort Choir

Fr. David Friel · December 1, 2013

Chant Behind Bars

Might Chant Scholas Flourish in Prisons?

Fr. David Friel · November 17, 2013

Must Art Be Permanent?

A Thought from Evelyn Waugh

Fr. David Friel · October 27, 2013

Gerard Manley Hopkins & Beauty

Pondering Papal Poetic Preferences

Luis Martínez Must Go!

Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

—Jeff Ostrowski

Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!

A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)

I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Pope Pius XII Hymnal?

Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

“Hybrid” Chant Notation?

Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Antiphons Don’t Match?

A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).

—Corpus Christi Watershed