Views from the Choir Loft

Insane Pacelli Liturgical Practice

Jeff Ostrowski · March 16, 2021

Three Radical Liturgical Changes • (Pope Pius XII)

I love Venerable Pius XII very much, but this particular change was unconscionable.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 21, 2020

“Pope Pius XII Psalter” • How different was it?

If this had caught on, every chant book—along with every psalm setting of Palestrina, Victoria, Morales, Guerrero, etc.—would have become “garbage” overnight.

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 5, 2020

Two remarkable (radical) liturgical realities … which few realize!

It’s interesting to compare the literal translations in the Brébeuf Hymnal to those done by Solesmes Abbey during the 1950s.

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Jeff Ostrowski · April 11, 2013

PDF Download • Instruction on Sacred Music (“De Musica Sacra”) • Issued by Pope Pius XII in 1958

Don’t you hate it when you think you know the answer to something . . . and then you find out you were dead wrong? This happened to me regarding the congregation reciting Mass Propers in the Extraordinary Form.

“Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

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