Pope Benedict XVI Schola

Five people interested in the schola met with me yesterday, Feb. 23, in the library at St. John Neumann Church. We had a good session, I think, and those who came were further along that I had expected. I chose some very simple chants for us to go over—and these people aced them. I need to choose more difficult music for next time . . . We will meet again in two weeks, this time at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa. Because the schola isn’t affiliated with any particular parish, we may end up meeting at multiple locations. In any case, for next time I’ll prepare a short introductory spiel for newcomers and then move directly to some more challenging chant—perhaps a Communio. I’ll also bring a simple piece of polyphony in case we have enough voices to cover three or four parts. At the initial meeting we had talented altos and tenors, so we could perhaps have sung some of Orlando di Lasso’s elegant little bicinas, but that’s about it. By the way—I’ve added a custom-search feature (see “custom search engine” in the first sidebar) you can use to find articles, documents, and what-have-you on specific sites I’ve chosen.

I’ve bought a lot of chant books in the past two years, but my favorite remains A Gregorian Chant Master Class by Dr. Ted Marier, available from the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn.

The good sisters have done us all a favor by making it possible to buy the book online. Last time I ordered a copy—in September, as a gift for a friend—I had to pay the old-fashioned way, by mailing a check.

The book offers a handy chart of neumes (the symbols used to represent the notes), clear explanations of how each one is sung, detailed examples, and a CD with a series of short lessons. If you want to learn chant, this is an excellent resource to start with.

Our first meeting—open to everyone interested in learning more about the schola—will begin at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut. I expect it to go until about 5:30. Noel Jones, music director for the parish, will begin free classes in reading Gregorian chant notation on the same day, same place, from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. The classes are free and open to everyone. Requirements for the schola are a bit tighter: members must be able to read music and match pitch with other singers. But everyone is invited to the interest meeting. E-mail me with any questions you may have.

Next week I’ll participate in the fifth annual Sacred Music Workshop in Auburn, Ala. I attended with three friends two years ago—and this year will travel to Auburn with several other friends. Friday is devoted to Gregorian chant, Saturday to Renaissance polyphony.

I expect to come home even more fired up about starting the schola. Don’t quote me on this, but I’m leaning toward scheduling the first “information meeting” the weekend of Feb. 23-24. I plan to invite a handful of people I know are interested, to get a blurb in the calendar of the diocesan newspaper, and to fax bulletin inserts to local parishes.

We’re trying to pin down a rehearsal location now . . . and one has tentatively been offered.

Stay tuned!

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Now playing: Gloriae Dei Cantores - Alma redemptoris mater
via FoxyTunes

Musicam Sacram, Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, published March 5, 1967, by the Sacred Congregation of Rites. If you want to know what we’re supposed to be singing at Mass, this document provides the foundation. —————- Now playing: Corydon Singers, Matthew Best & Thomas Trotter - Missa Choralis, S. 10 : III. Credo via FoxyTunes

If you’ve heard (or sung) the contemporary hymn “Sing a New Church,” have you ever stopped to wonder precisely what “new” church the author meant? And why we need a new church, as we still have such a long way to go in order to fully realize the church Christ gave us? Father Paul Scalia’s article “Ritus Narcissus,” from the Adoremus Bulletin, addresses the topic and a lot more. He writes

[the hymn], a triumphalist paean to diversity by Delores Dufner, OSB, also fosters the Cult of Us: Let us bring the gifts that differ And, in splendid, varied ways, Sing a new Church into being, One in faith and love and praise

You’re not going to find the “Cult of Us” in music whose text is the propers of the Mass. And if I’m not mistaken, Sister Delores is the same person who recently opined in Pastoral Music magazine that musical settings of the psalms didn’t seem “relevant” to people today. If Scripture no longer seems relevant, the problem is with us, and the solution is not dumbing down the Mass but purifying our tastes and desires. —————- Now playing: Tallis Scholars - Miserere via FoxyTunes

A friend has created a live365 Internet radio station, Gregorian Chant Lives! At the moment all but one of the tracks are from commercial recordings. One track is a Communion chant (link to pdf download: Amen dico vobis) sung by Harmonia Vocal Quartet and recorded during Mass under somewhat imperfect conditions.

The goal is to shift to chant recordings submitted by U.S. scholas. So if you’re a member of such a group and have mp3s to share, please e-mail.

In the meantime, enjoy listening.

Most Catholics—including, perhaps, many directors of music, priests, deacons, and religious—seem to see the selection of music for the sacred liturgy as a private matter, determined by personal preferences and what are “our favorite songs.” Certainly the culture of American Catholicism fosters that impression. A recent issue of a diocesan newspaper included an article explaining the U.S. bishops’ new advisory document Sing to the Lord. The article correctly notes that STTL “places a special emphasis on the use of the organ and the singing of Gregorian chants in Catholic Liturgies.” It continues,

But the music directors at three [diocesan] parishes don’t see the document as signaling a return to traditional music and a phasing out of popular contemporary music. A balance of music styles is needed, the directors said, to give participants the music they find spiritually moving.

The diocesan newspaper in question is an especially good one, and I’m not slamming the editors or writers.

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Our idea in starting the schola is that we will have no tie to any particular parish and no expectation of singing at any particular Mass. We would sing at Mass and prayer services (e.g., Vespers) by invitation and at our own concerts or in conjunction with other artists. Why? Parish affiliation can be both a blessing and a challenge. Ultimately, the only way to maintain artistic freedom is to be independent and to offer our services to parishes that are interested in what we have to offer. Of course, many of us (those who will be members and just don’t know it yet) will have parish commitments on Sunday mornings—with Catholic or other churches. Prime opportunity for us to perform might well be Saturday evening vigil Masses. Nota bene: perform is not a dirty word. Check out the first two definitions in the American Heritage Dictionary:

1. To begin and carry through to completion; do: The surgeon performed the operation.
2. To take action in accordance with the requirements of; fulfill: perform one’s contractual obligations.

—————- Now playing: Stile Antico - Libera nos I & II via FoxyTunes

Have you noticed the number of chant articles appearing in the media? Virtually all of the Catholic mags have published on the topic in the past year, and some secular newspapers have as well. Here’s a nice piece from the November/December 2007 issue of The Catholic Answer, an Our Sunday Visitor publication. The authors are Arlene Oost-Zinner and Jeffrey Tucker of the St. Cecilia Schola in Auburn, Ala. A couple of key paragraphs:

Popes have consistently emphasized that it should be studied, perfected and used, not just in religious communities and cathedrals but in all parishes. That is in part because chant embodies the pace, rhythm and transcendent longings we find in Scripture, particularly the Psalms. The tradition of Gregorian chant in the Latin rite provides music that meets the needs of all ages, classes and ethnic groups, not just in our times but in all times. The chant is intimately linked with Catholic faith and its prayer life. It takes us out of our everyday environment to remind us that we are in a sacred space. It helps us pray. For all these reasons, chant has begun to move beyond the world of CDs and movie soundtracks, entering once again into our parish lives. The National Registry of Gregorian Scholas (choirs), for example, lists more than 100 groups singing in parishes around the country.