Views from the Choir Loft

Singing the Mass

Sacred Music US • Website for Fr. Weber’s Resources

Fr. David Friel · March 31, 2019 ·

A website exists to disseminate Fr. Samuel Weber’s sacred music resources

New Musical Settings for the Blessing of the Holy Oils

Fr. David Friel · March 24, 2019 ·

The USCCB has provided freely downloadable versions of the musical settings of these newly translated texts.

Fourth-Century Advice for Choir Directors

Fr. David Friel · February 2, 2019 ·

A passage from Nicetas of Remesiana remains eminently applicable today.

What to Do with the “Fourth Option”

Fr. David Friel · March 19, 2017 ·

A new Adoremus article explores how best to overthrow the tyranny of “alius cantus congruus.”

New Collection of Propers from GIA

Fr. David Friel · October 2, 2016 ·

The growing market for Mass propers is a sign of promise.

Turning Off the Air Conditioning

Fr. David Friel · September 25, 2016 ·

Taking Advantage of the Natural Beauty that Surrounds Us

The Choir Isn’t Everything

Richard J. Clark · September 23, 2016 ·

The priest’s musical role is enormously influential. This can not be emphasized enough.

Composition Contest

Fr. David Friel · September 11, 2016 ·

Submissions Sought by the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians

Instruction on Sacred Music by Bishop John Doerfler

Fr. David Friel · April 24, 2016 ·

Introducing a Five-Year Plan for the Future of Sacred Music in the Diocese of Marquette

Too Many Options

Fr. David Friel · January 31, 2016 ·

Allowing Adolescents to Choose Their Faith & the Wide-Open Permissions of the GIRM

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

“Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another… It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. […] Men may go to Protestant Churches and to Catholic, may get good from both and belong to neither.”

— Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman (May of 1879)