Ave Maria--Biebl

Musica Sacra

Just took a look at the sidebar links here and noticed to my amazement and embarassment that the Church Music Association of America's website Musica Sacra was not there. This oversight is now remedied. You can find the CMAA under "Chant."

As I've mentioned previously, the CMAA hosts several national events each year for Church musicians, focusing on Gregorian chant and/ or polyphony. Their faculty is excellent and the atmosphere at these events is exceedingly joyful.

I'm posting their ad for the upcoming Colloquium--an annual gathering in Chicago every June. In the audio clips, if you hear a Victoria Sanctus and wonder why one of the altos is hitting a wrong note, that would be me! But I'm learning, and that is exactly what the Colloquium is all about.

New to the Sidebar

I'm adding a link to an online book, Early Latin Hymns by A. S. Walpole. It's an interesting and learned book, summing up the intense hymnological scholarship of the time. It can be found here.

Stop. The. Madness.

May this year be the last.
"Breathe for me," they haunt my prayer
with infant dreams of drawing air.
I shrink from sharp and sudden fear.
I shrink because the knife is near.
I feel a light initial blow--
but to the death my dreams don't go.

If you could only hear and see
the interest group that lobbies me--
whose privacy is not a right,
whose lives will end before tonight--
how quickly you would mark the ruse:
a woman's right to plan and choose.

A century beyond our own
will marvel at the evil done:
the terror and the salt and blood
in clean suburban neighborhoods;
the killing of one child in five
while you and I were here, alive.

How I spend my winter vacation, Part II

A week--a very full week--is impossible to put into words. But perhaps a picture will help:

Still not clear? Maybe some dialogue, then:

-Did you ever ask your choir to draw glasses on their score? Like this. That means, Look at the director.
-Excuse me, but that looks like a rabbit.
-An imaginary rabbit, maybe.
-Wait, what was his name?

If you don't think that's funny, then you probably weren't in the room at the time. It wasn't just funny, it was fast. It was benevolent. And there were many other things going on at the same time, most of them having to do with beautiful, beautiful music.

If I had to sum it all up in one word, it would be "joy."

The other day I had the opportunity to talk with a young man who wants to be a leader in liturgical music. He already is, actually, and he's so young, and so personable and talented, that the sky is the limit. I said to him what I've said to a couple of other people: According to the Bible, we will spend all eternity singing the praises of God. Isn't it a privilege, then, to have as your job!! the responsibility of teaching people to do what they will do forever and ever, before the throne of almighty God and the Lamb?

Abedecerian (Latin for Alphabetical)

Whilst perusing the Christmas section of the Liber Hymnarius, with a view towards translating its ancient hymns, I discovered the beautiful A solis ortus cardine. It is an acrostic hymn, so that each verse begins with a successive letter of the alphabet: a, b, c.

Now this may seem like a frivolous organizing principle for a venerable hymn, but the practice has roots in an even more venerable hymn form: the Psalm. Psalms 119 and 145, for example, are acrostic Psalms.

Turns out that the hymn, which ends at I for Iesu, is actually only the first part of the hymn that continues on H for Herod, and is the Epiphany hymn Hostis Herdodes Impie.

Welcome to new visitors!

Just wanted to take a moment and welcome those who are visiting for the first time.

Folks are following links from musicasacra.com/forum, The Recovering Choir Director, and searches for Pauline hymns, pro-life hymns, and particular hymns such as Songs of Thankfulness and Praise.

I would like to encourage polite exchange on my blog--the more creative, the better. Past comments have included original hymn texts, programming ideas, and thoughtful correctives to my posts. I've only found it necessary to delete the occasional bitter or off-color comment. In fact, my entire rules of discourse are summed up here.

Welcome to all.

Pro-Life Hymn

As the March for Life and other commemorations of the iniquitous Roe v. Wade decision approach, I thought I would repost this hymn that I wrote last year:

I suggest the tune Beach Spring

1. At the dawning of creation, God divided light from shade,
And He made us, male and female. In His image we were made.

(Refrain) And the life that God created we will honor and defend
From conception to the heavens; from beginning to the end.

2. God the Father called a people, and He drew them by the hand
And He led them through the desert and into the Promised Land.

3. In His saving Incarnation, Jesus bore a human frame
To restore the sacred Image hidden by our sin and shame.

4. And He walked among the people, healed the sick and raised the dead,
And the poor rejoiced at hearing the appealing words He said.

5. On the Cross, our gracious Savior Jesus laid His body down,
Dying as the Man of Sorrows; giving humankind a crown.

6. And He sent the Holy Spirit for forgiveness of our sins.
Even now God dwells among us; even now, new life begins.

7. When we share the Holy Myst’ries in the Eucharistic food
We are filled with life eternal: Jesus’ Body and His Blood.

8. When He comes again in glory, all the dead shall rise again,
And our human eyes shall see Him in the splendor of His reign.

c. 2008 by Kathleen Pluth. Anyone may use this hymn freely.

How I'm spending my winter vacation

Here

Vacation is not the right word, actually. It's called a "chant intensive" and it's intense indeed! And at the same time fun. In addition to the interesting information, there is all the organic learning that one does just by singing.

Already I'm beginning to master solfedge, which was a huge gap in my ability.

Rumor has it that we'll carefully study the Introit for the Epiphany (below) that I sang at my parish last Sunday, with its trumpet call, Ecce! Behold! The King!

The Introit of the Day

"Behold: the Sovereign Lord is coming. Kingship, government and power are in his hands. Endow the King with your judgment, O God, and the King's son with your righteousness."