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Views from the Choir Loft

Secular vs Sacred Music at Mass

Andrea Leal · January 29, 2020

In Which a Neo-Pagan Converts

I could feel that this Glory was immense, and mysterious, and real. But I could not quite grasp what that meant for me or what I should even do about it.

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Fr. David Friel · August 14, 2016

World Youth Day Krakow: Music Recordings

Seventeen (17) Tracks Now Available on iTunes

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Fr. David Friel · August 7, 2016

A Different Kind of World Youth Day

Sacred Music Helped to Transform Tauron Arena Kraków into a House of Prayer

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Fr. David Friel · December 13, 2015

Lighting Up Façades

Catholic churches ought not to be treated as houses of entertainment, but as houses of prayer.

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Guest Author · December 23, 2014

More On Secular Music At Mass … John Lennon?

It might just be my imagination, but isn’t the John Lennon’s “So this is Christmas” the same as that Alleluia?

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Fr. David Friel · October 12, 2014

The Society for Catholic Liturgy

Two Contributions from CCW Bloggers

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 8, 2014

Have We Lost The Church Music Battle?

The traditional music still triumphs in one important area: parishes run by “no-nonsense” priests.

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Corpus Christi Watershed · August 12, 2014

Aurelio Porfiri Letter In Current “Adoremus Bulletin”

“The problem is not pop music, but pop music in the liturgy.” — Aurelio Porfiri

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Jeff Ostrowski · March 9, 2014

Church music need not sound “Catholic” says drafter of USCCB guidelines

The author calls people who appreciate Gregorian chant “conservative” and those who don’t “liberal.” Are such labels really helpful?

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Jeff Ostrowski · February 13, 2014

Why Can’t We Use Secular Music During Mass?

Listen to these audio files. Is there any difference between “My Little Pony” and Dan Schutte’s 2012 “Glory To God” setting? Is that a cause for concern?

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Fr. David Friel · February 2, 2014

Youth in Favor of Sacred Music

Not a Negligible Niche

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Fr. David Friel · January 10, 2014

Is Chant Just for Old-Heads?

The NY Frassati Fellowship Chant Workshop

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Jeff Ostrowski · November 24, 2013

A Simple Plan To Improve Music At Mass

Are all musical styles acceptable for Mass? Movie directors realize such a notion is bogus.

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Jeff Ostrowski · October 21, 2013

Jimmy Stewart … and Church Music Regulations?

“Whenever school children must be placed in the choir loft at High Mass, the Boys may sing but the Girls must keep silent, unless the whole congregation takes part in the singing.” — Diocese of Pittsburgh Regulations (1931)

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Jeff Ostrowski · October 11, 2013

Addams Family Theme Song … At Mass?

Is it really true that any style of music can be lawfully used at Mass?

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Music List • (27th Sund. Ordinary Time)

    Readers have expressed interest in examining my “music list” for this coming Sunday: 4 October 2026

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    A Mystery! — Re: the “Liber Usualis”

    Even after all these years, nobody has been able to explain this.

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    —Jeff Ostrowski
    A Popular “Gloria” … in Dutch?
    Close to 16 years ago, I composed a “Glory to God in the Highest” in honor of SAINT RALPH SHERWIN. It was subsequently sung all over the world, and included in various collections (under different titles). You can download the musical score in plainsong notation. It was selected for inclusion in the Saint Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal, Gradual, and Lectionary—and here’s its keyboard accompaniment (PDF file). I have a terrible memory, but somebody reminded me it was translated into Dutch (!) in 2012. I have no idea who did this—but you can download the score by clicking here. Because I don’t speak Dutch, I have no idea whether the adaptation was done skillfully.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Preface of Saint Joseph (added by the pope)

    You can see the “Præfatio de Sancto Joseph” inserted directly into the priest’s missal.

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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

Random Quote

“Partly on account of these alterations, and partly because I have been unable to ascertain the authorship of many compositions—which have come to me either in manuscript or through other collections—I have thought it right to publish the volume without appending the names of writers to their works. This, however, I confess to be a defect…”

— Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1863)

Recent Posts

  • Music List • (27th Sund. Ordinary Time)
  • A Mystery! — Re: the “Liber Usualis”
  • A Popular “Gloria” … in Dutch?
  • From Rome • “International Week of Sacred Music”
  • Music List • (26th Sund. Ordinary Time)

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