Views from the Choir Loft

Sir Richard Runciman Terry

Jeff Ostrowski · September 4, 2020

Sir Richard Terry: Hymns, Congregational Singing, and Avoiding “Violence” to the Elders

Terry was forced to resign from the Cathedral in 1924, partially due to his “inconsistent approach to congregational singing at the Cathedral.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · July 17, 2020

PDF Download • “Label Your Luggage”

Religious instruction from Fr. Robert Nash, SJ. (1943 Imprimatur)

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Jeff Ostrowski · February 6, 2020

PDF Download • “What Makes A Good Hymn?”

Dr. Terry says: “The melody must be clearly defined, free from triviality and trite clichés, avoiding harmonies that are sugary or sensuous.”

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Jeff Ostrowski · August 3, 2019

Brébeuf #379 • “Quem Terra” (Melcombe)

One of the most popular melodies in Catholic hymnals of yesteryear.

Jeff Ostrowski · July 26, 2017

Seven Rules for Church Music (Sir Richard Terry)

“Is plainsong really so dull and dry as some of our singers would have us believe?”

Myth Re: Johann Sebastian Bach

Some musicologists try to make a “splash” by saying that Bach was totally forgotten when he died—remembered only as an organ virtuoso—and that his sons were more famous than he was. Such an idea is indefensible. It is true that musical styles changed in 1750AD—but this is normal. Musical styles change constantly; e.g. much of the repertoire of Hofmann and Rachmaninov was considered “garbage” toward the end of their lives. But those who carefully study the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Liszt, Hans von Bülow, Felix Mendelssohn, Frédéric Chopin, and countless others realize that Bach was revered. It’s true that his music was seldom played in public, but music by “dead composers” was generally speaking not played in public until approximately the middle of the 19th century.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Arthur Friedheim, Franz Liszt’s Secretary

Arthur Friedheim (d. 1932) has a very poor reputation as a pianist, and Liszt rejected him several times before finally accepting him as a pupil, yet the Liszt recordings he left are quite good—especially considering the transgressions by other Liszt pupils. Friedheim must have been an amazing musician; twice he was asked to become conductor of the New York Philharmonic (1898 + 1911) but he declined both times. Circa 1912, Friedheim was recording Chopin’s “Funeral March” but the record ran out, so he simply stopped in the middle of the piece. Things sure have changed! Pianists no longer stop in the middle of pieces, although Cortot would sometimes abridge pieces to make them fit on records (cf. Chopin’s Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise Brilliante).

—Jeff Ostrowski

“A blast from the past”

Consilium document (“Instantibus Pluribus”) to presidents of the national liturgical commissions, on norms for translation of the Graduale Simplex, dated 23 January 1968: “The types of chant in the Graduale Simplex may be adapted to the style of music and song typical of individual peoples. But any sort of secular or profane melody is excluded.”

—Jeff Ostrowski