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

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music Director Job • $80,000 per year

Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published

Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.

—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