Views from the Choir Loft

Catholic Youth Choirs

Our children must at the very least be exposed to the great music of the Church.

Richard J. Clark · July 12, 2019 ·

Traditional hymnody is often easier to sing: simpler melodically and rhythmically, and generally more substantive in theology.

Flash Mob • Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria”

Fr. David Friel · March 26, 2019 ·

A special celebration of the Annunciation 2019

New Resource! • Chant Videos for Treble Voices

Fr. David Friel · February 23, 2019 ·

A new website seeks to record the full Gregorian propers each week using a treble voice.

Sacred Music Camp in Allentown, NJ

Fr. David Friel · June 16, 2018 ·

New Opportunity for Children Grades 3–12

Sacred Music Camp for Children in Philadelphia

Fr. David Friel · June 10, 2018 ·

The Inaugural “Cantate Domino” Festival

Album: Sacred Treasures of England

Fr. David Friel · September 24, 2017 ·

Reflections on a recently released album of English choral music

What Do Catholic Teenagers Sing?

Fr. David Friel · August 20, 2017 ·

A lesson in presumptions and realities

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.

Dunwoodie Sponsors New Sacred Music Conference

Fr. David Friel · September 23, 2016 ·

“Gregorian Chant in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education” — March 10 & 11, 2017

World Youth Day Krakow: Music Recordings

Fr. David Friel · August 14, 2016 ·

Seventeen (17) Tracks Now Available on iTunes

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

“The following few hints on the selection of voices may be useful: (1) Reject all boys who speak roughly, or sing coarsely; (2) Choose bright, intelligent-looking boys, provided they have a good ear; they will much more readily respond to the choirmaster’s efforts than boys who possess a voice and nothing more; therefore, (3) Reject dull, sulky, or scatter-brained boys, since it is hard to say which of the three has the most demoralizing effect on his more willing companions.”

— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)