Views from the Choir Loft

Gregorian Chant

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.

In Gratitude for Choral Singers

Richard J. Clark · July 5, 2019 ·

I am deeply grateful to faith-filled choral singers because of their willingness to understand these 10 things

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.

Two February Workshops

Fr. David Friel · January 13, 2019 ·

A Symposium in Chicago and the Winter Pastoral Chant Conference in Indiana

Gregorian Impressions • Plainchant Settings for Organ

Richard J. Clark · June 29, 2018 ·

A new collection of organ works based on familiar and beloved plainchants

Sacred Music Camp in Allentown, NJ

Fr. David Friel · June 16, 2018 ·

New Opportunity for Children Grades 3–12

The Wethersfield Institute Chant Workshop

Fr. David Friel · May 6, 2018 ·

The focus of this workshop is training in the singing, teaching, and directing of Gregorian chant.

Summer Chant Courses—Dunwoodie

Fr. David Friel · April 1, 2018 ·

Two course offerings from the St. Cecilia Academy for Pastoral Musicians

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

In the Beauty of Holiness: Music and the Transcendent

Fr. David Friel · October 8, 2017 ·

New Lecture Series at the International Institute for Culture

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