HERE should I start on the history of the CD? I suppose I should start with the fact that I started taking piano lessons when I was seven years old, and was interested in music due to this fact. Therefore, in a very real way, my mother and father are responsible for my love of music. When we started to attend the Latin Mass, I was exposed to Gregorian Chant, thanks to the amazing talents of Fr. Peter Gee (at that time a deacon in the Fraternity of St. Peter).

When Fr. Valentine Young came to our parish, my love of Chant was solidified, owing to the fact that Fr. Valentine was an authority on the subject, and had been in love with Chant his whole life. Furthermore, he gave me a copy of the CD “Tu Es Petrus” by the Fraternity of St. Peter, which had, in addition to Chant, sacred polyphony. From that point forward, I never turned down an opportunity to learn more about Sacred Music and Gregorian Chant. And by this point in my life, I had already been listening to the great organ masterpieces of Bach and Mendelssohn for years.

Lynn Deahl entered my life when we became responsible for High Masses at St. Joseph's Church. I was still a piano major at this time, but every Sunday I became a “Gregorian Chant” major when Lynn and I sang through the whole Liturgical year, together with my brother Mark and our faithful organist/singer, Brian Hamilton. Lynn had an incredible amount of knowledge of Chant, which I SLOWLY tried to assimilate. In truth, I sometimes forget just how much I owe to Lynn, for his patient advice about all things Liturgical and musical.

While singing at St. Joseph's, I came into possession of an amazing set of Gregorian Chant accompaniments. I found them through the generosity of Dr. Politoske, and I am very grateful to him, because there is not in this world anything coming close to matching these special accompaniments. Created in the fifties, these accompaniments are of the highest quality as well as quantity (since their 1500+ pages encompass the entire Liber Usualis). These accompaniments had a profound effect on my love of Chant, and, indeed, my whole way of thinking about how music is put together.

The idea first came to my mind to produce a CD when I got sick and tired of searching for decent Chant/Polyphony tapes to listen to on my way to school. After all, after 100 times, even “Tu Es Petrus” gets old... When I met a KU professor who agreed to play organ for us, and had someone volunteer to record it, it seemed inevitable. That was how “Salve Sancta Parens” (a CD of Gregorian Chant & Sacred Music) was born.

Chronologically, the next thing to happen was my discovery of a certain 4-volume set of books in the KU library. They are not on the catalogue, and they are 150 years old. To make a long story short, they are a collection of Sacred Renaissance Polyphony, the like of which I have never seen. Contained in these 2000+ pages was everything I could ever dream of in Catholic Sacred Music.

When our Parish built a new Chapel/school, I became the music director. So, now, all of a sudden I had the best collection of Sacred Music possible and a choir to “test out” these pieces. I immediately began transcribing the pieces and teaching them to my choir.

At this same time, I was also helping a newly formed Schola at Benedictine College, where my brother was. Furthermore, I was transcribing music for the University of Kansas Collegium Musicum, which I sang in.

When I found out that I could rent equipment and record the CD myself, that sealed it. I immediately started trying to set a recording date. And here we come to the biggest problem I had while recording the CD: scheduling! I didn't MIND choosing music that we could sing in our Chapel as well as on the CD, transcribing the Polyphony, putting it on the computer so the choir could practice it, printing out booklets, practicing with the choir, writing out the chant accompaniments by hand, making CD's for the chanters to practice with, traveling to three cities to practice with them, inventing a system of notation that would facilitate the singers & organist, making booklets with markings to match the organist's, mailing out music to KU friends, learning the organ solos, or setting up microphones at four different locations over a period of weeks... The thing that drove me crazy was trying to schedule the recording sessions! For instance, for tracks 11 & 12, it took me over 2 months to schedule the singers, because of various factors. However, it took us a total of less than 40 minutes to actually record the pieces (no rehearsals of course...that would be more scheduling!!!).

One of the problems with scheduling was that I was working with some amazing singers, who were very busy at all times. They were all so generous in offering their services, and I can truthfully say that it was worth the hassle!

Once all the recordings were made, I thought I was finished! However, a friend, of mine, Everett Griffiths, explained to me that the work was no where near being completed yet. I thought that post-production work would take me something like 10 hours. All things included, it probably took me closer to 60 hours, about 25 of which Everett helped me with. The CD owes an INCREDIBLE amount to Everett, as do I personally.

Notes by Jeff Ostrowski

ST. JOHN MARY VIANNEY LATIN MASS COMMUNITY CHOIR

Mark Ostrowski: is my brother, and a great singer/pianist. He had a great attitude throughout all the recording sessions, and he even gave up a lot of time during his college finals week. Thanks, Mark!

Lynn Deahl: I have already had occasion to speak of Lynn. He is a very patient, smart man, with a tremendous amount of experience. He even brought his family in to help on two of the tracks.

Theresa VanderPutten: Theresa is a bright spot out of all the choir. She is always cheery, and always wants to practice more! She's an amazing alto, without whom the choir would not be the same....

Virginia VanderPutten: Talented in many ways, one of Virginia's gifts is a nice pure voice. May she always keep it that way, and never turn into an operatic singer! Among other things, Virginia sews Vestments for Mass and creates amazing drawings.

John Poitevin: John sang in the schola at St. Gregory's Academy, and when I heard this, I immediately tried to get him to join our choir. I am glad I did, because he is an amazing bass. John also plays the electric guitar.

Angela Hamilton: Angela is also a girl of many talents. For one thing, she has been better than me at any sport since she was a little girl. She plays flute and piano very well, and, as I discovered, she also sings very well! Angie is going to Benedictine college this semester.

Lucas P. Gets: Luke has been a continual support to the CD. When I needed a singer, he was there. When I needed help recording something, he was there. He has spent a substantial period of time with us at the office, working on the CD. Thank you, Luke!

Kristen Ostrowski: Kristen is, indeed, “long-suffering”... You see, she is my sister, and so I always rely on her to pick up slack. Whether it is making me a sandwich, coming all the way to Lawrence to baby-sit for me, or singing even when she doesn't feel like it, Kristen is always there for me. Also, she is an amazing singer!

Kathleen Ostrowski: My mother, also, stepped in and helped me when I desperately needed it. She is a very good alto. Thanks, Mom!

Tim: Tim didn't sing on the CD, but he did help with the recording. He is a very bright and patient young man.

ST. GABRIEL LALEMANT SCHOLA CANTORUM

Brian Hamilton: Brian has always been a good friend to me. He is a fantastic organist/pianist, but his career is in computers. When we came together for the CD (after not seeing each other for a long while) we picked up right where we left off: that is, us singing and him accompanying! He and his wife, Maia, are expecting a baby.

Fr. Ulrich Theuerer: Father is one of the best chanters that I have had the privilege of meeting. While in the FSSP, he studied in Germany and the United States. He speaks several languages fluently, and he was one of the singers on “Tu Es Petrus”.

Subdeacon James Fryar: Subdeacon, a member of the Fraternity of St. Peter, is a very good singer, who was in a monastery for many years. He is interested in computers, cars, art, and music. He recently commisioned me to write a Mass setting for his first Mass, which will be in May, 2004.

Lucas Tappan: A very dignified and quiet gentleman, Lucas helped make the CD a success by singing the Chant with us. He has an incredible range, and he sings in the Chamber Singers with my brother Mark (at Benedictine College).

KU GUEST ARTISTS

Paul Guise: Paul was the first of the KU guest artists to volunteer his time. Paul is from Canada, where he got his Undergraduate degree in Theory. He taught voice lessons there, which is maybe why he can sight-sing anything! He has a Masters in Choral Conducting, and is pursuing a Doctorate in Music Education at KU. Paul stepped in and conducted the Palestrina on the CD, and my choir still talks about his wonderful motions and grasp of choral conducting.

Michael & Greer Brown: These are two of the greatest undergraduate singers at KU. KU by the way, has an Internationally known voice department. Greer is only recently a Brown: they were wed early this Summer. They hope to go to Austria for graduate studies. Incidentally, Michael's Men's Quartet received 5th place in the Nation, and Greer frequently sings the lead role in KU Operas.

S'ng Oh: S'ng Oh, I can truthfully say, is the single most talented musician I have ever had the privilege of directing. When she was our conductor in Collegium, we had a little game we liked to play called “Put Difficult Music in Front of S'ng and Watch Her Sight-read It”... But, even overshadowing her pianistic skills is her vocal skills. For me, as I have perhaps told her, she has the greatest alto voice. Pure beyond reckoning, yet...bright! She is pursuing a Masters in Vocal Performance and Choral Conducting. Incidentally, S'ng (who often concertizes) was featured as a soloist on the National Liberation Day of Korea program for BBC Radio.

Jonathan Andrews: One of the classiest gentleman you'll ever want to meet, Jonathan possesses the ideal renaissance bass voice. Jonathan was in Collegium with me last year, and he was always cheerful and supportive of my CD project, no matter what crazy surprises we got while doing it!

Carol Price: Carol is a horn player, but I can't help but think that she should have been a Voice major. She has an amazing, amazing renaissance alto voice. Not exactly “shy” by nature, she is very well-loved at KU.

Chris Wootton: Chris is a very generous and caring person. He is a graduate student in Organ, and he was in Collegium with me last year. When we sang for the CD, it was just like old times!

Abigail Smith: Abigail has many talents! One of them is singing, and she has a very pure, admirable voice. Another is pianism (we studied with the same professor). Another is composing. Another is knowledge of the Bible. Another is knowledge of recording techniques. The list goes on.

Dr. John Paul Johnson: Dr. Johnson, head of the Choral Division at KU, was very supportive of me while I was recording the CD. I owe him much. His list of achievments is FAR too numerous to list, but I would point out that he has served as a conductor, clinician, or adjudicator for more than 400 events throughout the world, and has been the conductor-in-residence at the Trinity College of Music in London and at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland.

Notes by Jeff Ostrowski

Catholic CD, Catholic Music, Purchase, Polyphony, Palestrina, Gregorian Chant Topeka, KS