The Blessed John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music

I keep hearing the most wonderful things about Catholicism in the UK these days, and this is no exception. The Institute will provide parish-oriented formation for clergy and musicians in truly sacred music. The Birmingham Oratory is known for its fine liturgies, and will be well qualified to teach. Hymn fans like me will be glad to know that the Oratory's heritage includes the hymns of Frs. Faber, Caswell, and of course Newman.

Here is the plan for the first term:

•a practical instruction on singing the Mass;
•the theological and historical background to Church Music;
•the Celebration of the sung Blessed John Henry Newman Pilgrim Mass.

--with "evening sessions for the clergy, offering them the opportunity to know how to sing the different parts of the Mass in Latin and in English. Each of these sessions will be repeated to enable more priests and deacons to attend. There will also be a new choir for children at the Sunday 12 noon Mass for Families at the Oratory."

From the Inaugural Address:"This may well frighten some people. Music, they may say, is for the experts, for the choir or the music group, but not for the priest, deacon, lector, or even the entire congregation. Some may object that it is simply too difficult or too unfamiliar, but if you look closely at the Missal without prejudice, it is possible to see that the music written there is not designed to be sung by experts, but by anybody. It is designed to be an ordinary and familiar expression of the faith of the Church in action. It may seem unfamiliar at first, because we have long since grown to be unfamiliar with the idea of singing the Mass, as opposed to singing during the Mass. What the Church invites us to do in receiving the new translation is to learn to recognise it as something “beyond the prosaic” . Music, even very simple chants, help to achieve that end."

Sounds like a great plan! In the words of Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth, Executive Director of ICEL, the Institute represents "probably the most significant enterprise in liturgical music in the UK since the Council." Best wishes on this new beginning! Please export as soon as practicable.

The Gothic Revolution

Music Education

"...Music is a "powerful 'gymnasium,' not only on the artistic and professional plane, but in the overall human profile..." Pope Benedict XVI

Sursum Corda: The Youth Classical Schola

Last Saturday before the historic Pontifical Mass at the National Shrine, I had the honor of directing the children's schola which chanted during Bishop Slattery's vesting. The schola combined my own Alexandria, VA, St. Louis Church's Youth Classical Schola and the Chorus from St. Ann's Academy in DC. In the weeks leading up to the Mass, I spent a good deal of time on the road, rehearsing with St. Ann's, to produce a unified sound.

The children sang Veni, Creator Spiritus, Adoro Te devote, and Regina caeli. I think they sang their best--which, many say, is beautifully--and under challenging circumstances.

The event was marked with controversy and strife. The originally planned celebrant did not say the Mass, for reasons that have been widely publicized. From my perspective, the Mass had certain less-than-optimal earmarks of any inaugural event. There were little glitches here and there, and some problems communicating. My guess is the communication issues had most of all to do with everyone's relative uncertainty. It is difficult to do something complex and new, because there is no established routine. Meanwhile, everyone's goodwill and effort was evident, and the pleasure of collaboration can make little glitches seem unimportant. The second time will be much easier, and, God willing, under much less public pressure and scrutiny.

From the time when the discussions of my schola's involvement first began, the organizer who was my principle contact spoke of his strong sense that children's voices would be essential at this Mass. While I agreed, I had no idea at the time that his sense would turn out to be quite so prophetic and urgent. Given the publicity, and given the scale of the atrocity of crimes that have been committed against children, the sweet sound of children's singing, which always lifts my heart, can be a balm for all of us. Their pact with the Church, after all, is unbroken. They are safe, they serve, they learn. Our experience in working together has been not only positive but joyous, a microcosm of the excellent ecclesiology of Catholicism as it is played out in so many ways around the world.

I hope that joy was evident in their sound.

Church Music Association of America Colloquium 2009

I've just returned from a terrific musical and liturgical experience, the Church Music Association's annual Colloquium. The Colloquium is an immersion experience in chant and polyphony. Participants are organized ("sorted," in Harry Potter language) into working groups: chant choirs and polyphony choirs. Within a few days, each choir learns a substantial amount of music well enough to sing at Mass.

Here is a page of very well-done sound files to provide hours of listening pleasure. My favorite piece of all is the Gloria from Thursday's Mass, which was actually not sung by a Colloquium group but by a parish choir from St. John Cantius, in Chicago.

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.

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!

Have you registered yet?

All the cool kids are going to the Sacred Music Colloquium this June!

This is like summer camp for music geeks. You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?

Of course not. I'll be there, too. Details here.