Views from the Choir Loft

Monsignor Francis P Schmitt

“Catholic Choirmaster” • Fascinating Photo Taken 29 August 1964

Jeff Ostrowski · April 19, 2016 ·

CMAA was formed the same year “Inter Oecumenici” was issued by the Vatican.

Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt—“Put Out To Pastor”

GuestAuthor · February 19, 2014 ·

An in depth article about Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt by Andy Baumert.

Msgr. Francis P. Schmitt Reviews the NOH (1958)

Jeff Ostrowski · January 14, 2014 ·

“We know of Vatican accompaniments, not so expert as these, that have been junked because they were Vatican. Apparently no one has junked these and no one is likely to.” — Msgr. Schmitt

Photograph of Msgr. Francis P. Schmitt

Jeff Ostrowski · July 26, 2013 ·

Photograph of “Father Schmitt” of Boys Town taken during the 1950s.

Music Delivered A Young Boy From Dispair

GuestAuthor · June 17, 2013 ·

“My father had no job and a daily passion for beer. The situation was hopeless for both him and his seven children. When I was 11 years old, Catholic Charities intervened. They split us up, and sent five of us kids to foster homes, and my older brother Mike and I to Boys Town.”

A Tale Of Two Monsignori: Schmitt & Vyverman

Jeff Ostrowski · April 22, 2013 ·

Did Msgr. Schmitt malign Msgr. Vyverman of Malines? And did Fr. Schmitt truly forget Gogniat’s name?

Tribute To Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt

Jeff Ostrowski · January 26, 2013 ·

“There is only one way—to be a man of prayer and a man of faith: to be a man in love with and imbued with Christ’s life.”

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