Views from the Choir Loft

Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal

“Mass of the Americas” • Solemn Pontifical High Mass in DC

Fr. David Friel · October 24, 2019 ·

Archbishop Cordileone will offer Mass November 16, 2019 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

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.

Solemn High Mass with Faure’s Requiem on All Souls’ Day

Fr. David Friel · October 23, 2018 ·

Missa Solemnis to be offered at St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington, DC

Participation Booklet (Spanish) for Extraordinary Form Baptisms

Fr. David Friel · October 21, 2018 ·

Un recurso para facilitar una participación más profunda

Participation Booklet for Extraordinary Form Baptisms

Fr. David Friel · October 6, 2018 ·

A resource for facilitating deeper participation

Saint Thérèse Triduum

Fr. David Friel · September 23, 2018 ·

An Annual Tradition at the Philadelphia Carmel

Masses to Begin at FSSP Parish in Philadelphia

Fr. David Friel · September 4, 2018 ·

This weekend will mark the beginning of Masses offered at the parish.

The Centrality of the Sign of the Cross

Fr. David Friel · May 27, 2018 ·

The Roman Rite revolves around this sign of our salvation

The Preface of the Holy Cross

Fr. David Friel · March 18, 2018 ·

An eloquent liturgical text worthy of prayerful reflection

Lux Fulgebit: Mass at Dawn of Christmas Day

Fr. David Friel · December 24, 2017 ·

New recording by the Schola Cantorum of St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, CT

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