Views from the Choir Loft

Johann Sebastian Bach

Dr. Charles Weaver · March 5, 2025

Solmization from the Inside, Part 3

Making the case for the (very) old method of solfège, or, what is so sharp about sharp notes?

Jeff Ostrowski · February 13, 2024

“Ite, Missa Est” • What Does That Actually Mean?

Bishop Ambo’s assertion that Mass was attended—for centuries—by a single woman (and nobody else) is bizarre.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 4, 2023

Church Music Shouldn’t Be “Headache-Inducing”

Authentic sacred music should attract people. It should not drive them away.

Jeff Ostrowski · December 19, 2022

J.S. Bach “Alleluia” • Director Posts Live Recording!

Our singers really love this one…

Jeff Ostrowski · December 13, 2022

PDF Download • “Advent Eucharistic Hymn”

I don’t know a more powerful exposition on the Holy Eucharist than this striking hymn by Archbishop Pecham!

Jeff Ostrowski · September 28, 2022

PDF Download • SATB “Alleluia” by J.S. Bach

This short piece shimmers with beauty. The arrangement is by Monsignor René Moissenet.

Jeff Ostrowski · September 7, 2020

Jeff Ostrowski • “Three Rules For Good Music”

But we have not spoken very much about Baroque music…

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Fr. David Friel · October 8, 2017

In the Beauty of Holiness: Music and the Transcendent

New Lecture Series at the International Institute for Culture

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · March 6, 2014

Seven Theses for the Evaluation of Music

Let us listen consistently to the greatest works in music and make them the exemplars, the teachers, the inspirations and consolations of our interior life as aesthetic beings.

Luis Martínez Must Go!

Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

—Jeff Ostrowski

Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!

A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)

I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.

—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