Views from the Choir Loft

Marian Antiphons Gregorian

Jeff Ostrowski · December 7, 2025

“Alma Redemptóris Mater” • Everything There Is To Know About This Marian Antiphon

Including a new harmonization for the pipe organ.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 26, 2021

“Salve Regina” • Organ Accompaniment

Readers already realize that seventeen (17) splendid organ accompaniments for the simple “Salve Regina” can be freely and conveniently downloaded here. But what about the solemn tone for the “Salve Regina”—has anyone composed an organ accompaniment for that? Yes, Canon Jules Van Nuffel has composed one for the solemn version.

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Jeff Ostrowski · November 17, 2020

“Alma Redemptoris Mater” • Thirteen (13) Organ Accompaniments

When it comes to Gregorian harmonizations, this piece is surely the “pons asinorum.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · June 4, 2020

PDF Download • 17 Organ Accompaniments for the simple “Salve Regina”

Potiron, Ostrowski, Bragers, Marier, Desrocquettes, Murray, and more!

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Knox. Has. No. Equal.

Dr. Finberg (of the University of Leicester) famously said: “No living writer possesses a greater command over the English language than Monsignor Ronald Knox.” A lifetime spent among his works would not exhaust them; always another thing to see, never once a reason to look away. Consider the marvelous way Knox Englished the famous VERBUM SUPERNUM of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The 4th verse (in Latin) means: “By being born, He became man’s companion; at this supper, He became man’s food; in dying, He became man’s ransom; in reigning, He is man’s reward.” Knox brilliantly makes the English fit the Latin meter: The manger, Christ their equal made, | That upper room, their souls’ repast, | The Cross, their ransom dearly paid, | And heav’n, their high reward at last. I believe the meaning of the French word “manger” was not absent from his thoughts when he penned that stanza.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Proportionalist Plainchant • (Documented)

On this website, we believe: “If we don’t know where we came from, we can’t know where we’re going.” As a result, we often spend hours scanning old books of GREGORIAN CHANT (and organ accompaniments). We don’t claim those items are useful or desirable for today’s circumstances; the goal is understanding where we came from. Here is a fascinating musical score from the 19th century. At that time, it was believed that MENSURALISM (a.k.a. “proportionalism”) was the historically correct way to sing plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Garnier Alleluias • “Have They Moved?”

We received an email asking whether the “Garnier Gospel Acclamations website” has…

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—Jeff Ostrowski

“Predictable Rhymes?” • A Follow Up

We received considerable correspondence regarding my article, Two Ways to Defile a Hymn. More specifically, what really raised certain people’s hackles was its follow-up article dealing with the keyboard accompaniment for the CHRIST THE KING HYMNAL. But to quote Eliza Doolittle: “Have I said anything I oughtn’t?” Please examine this PDF file and see whether you agree. Were the editors of the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL incorrect to insist upon sophisticated and clever rhymes, rather than mind-numbingly predictable rhymes?

—Jeff Ostrowski

‘Ould’ But Not Good

Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026

A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊

—Corpus Christi Watershed

If it is the explicit will of the Council that the faithful are to be able to sing the “Gloria” or the “Credo” together in Latin [which it is] then indirectly there is being expressed here the obligation of regularly celebrating Mass with Latin Gregorian chant. And not merely occasionally, but with such frequency and constancy as to make the singing of these Latin texts a genuine possession of the faithful.

— Heinrich Flatten, Apostolic Protonotary & Canon Law Professor (Bonn)