Views from the Choir Loft

Resources for training in Church music

Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast

Fr. David Friel · March 10, 2019

Dedicated to exploring the teaching and vision of the Church on the topic of liturgical music

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.

Square Note App

Fr. David Friel · April 9, 2017

Bring your “Graduale Digitalum” wherever you go.

Recordings for A New Book of Old Hymns

Veronica Brandt · February 20, 2016

A little book of Gregorian chant hymns for the every occasion, with a collection of recordings for those unfamiliar with chant notation. Now more than a decade since the first edition and still going strong.

Is Recorded Music Okay for Children?

Fr. David Friel · July 27, 2014

There is a prevalent notion that young people somehow need to be accommodated in the work of divine worship. As a former child, I find this to be an errant hankering.

From a Catholic priest…

Regarding the CCW mailing list, a priest (Father E. J.) wrote to us yesterday:

“Sometime ago, you wrote something along the lines that none of your emails are copies or merely pitches; each one is individual. I respect you so much for that. I don’t always get to read through them, but they remain in my inbox for when I have time. I can’t over estimate how much I appreciate you and your team’s work, how many times I’ve turned to CCwatershed for guidance, tips, and ideas. Unfortunately I’m not in a position to choose or direct music at my assignment. I may have said this to you once before but: I look forward to when I can. One of the first things I’d do in a parish is bring your resources aboard (gradually, of course).”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Does Gregorian Chant ever skip a 7th?

I’ve really been enjoying singing from the Père Daniel Kyriale (126 pages), which is a fabulous little book. I had no idea it would turn out so nicely—incredibly useful, and the printing is super crisp. I noticed something quite strange the other day: Kyrie X (an extremely ancient chant) contains a skip of a seventh. Sometimes that’s the result of a missing Trope, but not in this instance. (I know, because I also examined the Troped version.)

—Jeff Ostrowski

We love getting messages like this one…

“I am a 25-year-old organist and cantor from the mountains of Northern Colorado. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and your friends for working hard to bring excellent content to your website and my inbox. I have found many, many awesome resources to help me stay faithful to the Church’s stance and traditions on good, beautiful sacred music at the local parishes for which I play the organ and cantor. Truly refreshing to see all the good content. Mere words fail me. I wish you could know how helpful you’ve been. I can sense your passion for this, and it’s contagious. We were able to start to implement the chanted antiphons in English, and I am more comfortable singing the traditional Latin propers at Holy Communion or Offertory. I have a tremendous appreciation for the beauty handed down by our forefathers, especially with the Extraordinary Form Mass… I wish we could have them more often, but good things are starting to happen to sacred music. Other church musicians I know and used to work with are grateful for your resources and hard work. You influence more people than you know!”

—Jeff Ostrowski