Here is our program. The opening chant is the hymn Audi benigne

Advanced Gregorian Chant Study Week in Solesmes June 18-22, 2007

Ave Maria University offers this rare opportunity for advanced musicians to spend a week studying Gregorian chant at the Abbey of St. Pierre in Solesmes, France, the recognized center of chant restoration and research.

Students will attend class 2 or 3 times a day at the abbey, and will have the opportunity to attend all public liturgies in the chapel as well.  The class will be taught by Dom Daniel Saulnier, O.S.B., Director of Paleography at the Abbey and professor at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome.

Hear the monks chanting music of the Mass and Divine Office each day in their gothic chapel.  As a picture is worth a thousand words, the singing of the monks at the Abbey St. Pierre presents an illustration of interpretation and style that can never be taught in the classroom or read in a book.

Understand the spirituality of chant as you experience it in its intended setting and for its intended purpose - sung liturgical prayer.  Class participation combined with the immersion in chant in the liturgy will be an educational experience unequaled in any school of music.

The St. Cecilia Schola’s workshop in sacred music, held at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Auburn, Alabama (February 17-18, 2007) was a spectacular success. More than 75 people were in attendance. One third of the participants came from around the archdiocese, with the remaining participants coming from Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and a good number from as far away as Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, and California.

The focus was the renewal of the sung liturgy in accordance with modern ecclesiastical norms. It was nonstop rehearsal and work on Renaissance polyphony on Friday afternoon, and a full day of training in Gregorian chant on Saturday. It was very encouraging for participants, many of whom had never been exposed to the chant before. They learned and sang right along with chant director Scott Turkington (Stamford Schola Gregoriana) and members of the St. Cecilia Schola.

Some participants had been referred by their directors, who had attended last year. Others were sent by their priests for training, and others came in the hope of gaining the necessary skills for founding new scholas. All ages and demographic groups were represented. Many participants had never experienced reading Gregorian notation or singing the glorious music of the 16^th century, and certainly not with so many other singers.

The workshop culminated in a beautiful vigil Mass with Fr. Patrick Driscoll (Montgomery) and Fr. David Carter (Chattanooga) as concelebrants. The choir sang two Gregorian Propers, along with Gregorian settings of the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. In addition, there were hymns and three motets by composers Orlando di Lasso, Giovanni Croce, and G.A. Palestrina—all this in a day and a half of teaching and rehearsing.

A noontime session on Saturday was dedicated to discussing the practical applications of the burgeoning movement for chant and polyphony. Participants discussed hymnbooks, the transition from contemporary Christian music to authentic liturgical music, the implications of Church norms, approaches to dealing with pastoral leadership, methods of liturgical planning, resources that every musician needs, and much more.

This was the fourth year of the workshop. It was evident that it has moved from its early status as an experiment to become fully institutionalized as a training ground for Catholic musicians from around the country. Pastors are now sending their music directors to become more knowledgeable, and whole choirs are coming to discover new repertoire. This is especially important during the Benedict XVI papacy, which has strongly emphasized the need to restore lost solemnity in liturgy.

The St. Cecilia Schola was founded in 2001 as a parish choir attached to St. Michael’s in Auburn, with a particular emphasis on using chant and polyphony as an integral part of modern liturgy. The singers, directors, and organizers are not paid professionals but volunteers with a love for sacred music.

The schola is entirely financed through member contributions. If you would like to support our work and mission–and we do need and appreciate the support–write us at contact@ceciliaschola.org or see ceciliaschola.org

The tentative date for 2008 is February 1-2.

This is a great weekend to post the workshop flyer at your parish. Download here.

The Sacred Music Workshop with guest conductor Scott Turkington is only ten days away!  There is still time to register.  Doing so now will help us plan an efficiently run weekend for all.

Benedicamus Domino!