• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

Sacred Music Symposium 2022

Corrinne May · September 20, 2022

“My Reflections” • Re: 2022 Symposium Keynote

“I ended up spending hours, transcribing each and every word from Father Fryar’s Symposium lecture. Although it took many hours, I relished the process.” —Corrinne May

Corpus Christi Watershed · August 8, 2022

“The Memory Will Stay With Me Forever.” —Helen Tsang, who flew 7,797 miles

“Vespers was crafted and conducted masterfully. We chanted each of the psalms in monastic style, alternating the verses between the two sides of the choir. ”

Corpus Christi Watershed · August 3, 2022

“Me? A Singer?” – Harrison’s Personal Testimony

“A year ago I knew very little about sacred music, but what a marvelous journey it’s been!” — Harrison Hoge

Corpus Christi Watershed · August 1, 2022

“From a Recent Convert” • Symposium Review

“My dad had passed away the previous week, and the Symposium brought me closer to God at a time when I needed it the most.…” — Eric L.

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 28, 2022

Isabella Marie • “My Personal Testimony”

“The Sacred Music Symposium was one of the most enjoyable, intense, and spiritually fulfilling experiences of my life.” — Isabella Marie

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 12, 2022

“By day 4, tears were running down my face.”

“The symposium was like nothing I have ever experienced.” — South Dakota Participant

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 8, 2022

PDF Download • “High Resolution Image”

Some have requested a “high resolution image” of Sacred Music Symposium 2022…

Jeff Ostrowski · July 8, 2022

“I’ll be back next year … but with my entire choir!”

“The symposium exceeded all of my expectations.” — Pediatrician, Choirmaster, and Mother of Six Children

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 1, 2022

“I Decided to Get a Plane Ticket and Fly 8,700 Miles From Singapore to Take Part.”

“These are the musical treasures everyone needs to know about.” — 2022 Participant

Jeff Ostrowski · June 29, 2022

“Exceeded Every Expectation!” • Mr. O’Brien’s Review

“I attended Symposium this year, and was absolutely blown away.”

Corpus Christi Watershed · June 28, 2022

“81 Photos” • Sacred Music Symposium 2022

More than eighty photographs give you a “glimpse” of a week dedicated to restoring authentic Catholic music.

Corpus Christi Watershed · June 28, 2022

“I Found Myself Weeping, Almost In Disbelief…”

“Your faculty may never know the depth of how you affected each person there. For my part, I am forever changed…” — Symposium Participant (Texas)

Jeff Ostrowski · June 26, 2022

Our Daily Prayer • Sacred Music Symposium 2022

“My God, my Father, and my All, I am ready and willing to accept from Thy hands this day…”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 19, 2022

PDF Download • “Polyphony For Choirs” (262 Pages)

Enjoy this tiny “reward” for your phenomenal response to our fundraiser.

Corpus Christi Watershed · May 3, 2022

“Repertoire Page” • Sacred Music Symposium 2022

Sign up today! A few voice parts still have openings.

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The People’s Hymnal suffers from a too literal and awkward translation. And even in the lovely Slovak “Memorare” in The Saint Gregory Hymnal we are still asked to sing “that anyone who sought thee, or made to thee his moan.” Why not “groan” or “bone” or even “phone?” The only thing necessary, it seems, is that it rhyme with “known.”

— Mons. Francis P. Schmitt (1958)

Recent Posts

  • Every Diocesan Music Commission Should Do This
  • Exclusive Interview • “Púeri Cantóres” President
  • PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
  • The Real Miracle of Gregorian Chant
  • Why A “Fugue” Here?

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.