Here is our Palm Sunday program.

And here is a wonderful edition of the Exsultet for Easter Vigil.

Like most scholas around the country, we have spent months in preparation for Holy Week. We took on our biggest challenge to date: Miserere by Allegri. It is such a wonderful piece, and very famous for being the exclusive possession of the Sistine Chapel until Mozart himself copied it out and released it from memory. We are not singing it in two choirs but just one. It is an incredibly difficult piece to keep together. We’ve had to live with it for months before the text began to flow well.

And yet, now we must look to Easter. We are especially enjoying this vigorous arrangement of O Filii et Filiae, by Jeffrey Ostrowski. The tempo is a medium fast two. It is the sort of piece that makes you rethink the entire song. Also new for us this year is Di Lasso’s Jubilate Deo.

Next year, our hope is that the Passion chants will be sung. They are quite difficult, and we just didn’t have the time to put it all together this year. But this is part of the joy of our work: the ideal is ever present and ever elusive.

A few clips you might enjoy:

The St. Cecilia Schola is now part of the National Registry of Gregorian Scholas

As we busily prepare Allegri’s Miserere Mei for Lent, we are drawn to this plainchant version as a way to perfect the text.

A workshop attendee has provided a nice photo set from the workshop, with many pictures of rehearsals and sessions. Enjoy!

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!

The Hotel at Auburn University, which is in walking distance from St. Michael’s (less than five minutes), has extended its offer of $87 per night (plus tax) for workshop attendees. The Hotel features first class guest rooms and service, one of Auburn’s premier restaurants, a garden terrace, a cozy lounge w/fireplace for that evening nightcap, a fully equipped fitness center, and more. This really is a great value! And with all the chanting that will be heard in its halls after workshop sessions have ended for the day, hotel employees will be wondering if they’ve gone to heaven before their time.
The Hotel’s online reservation system is still undergoing an upgrade, so the best thing to do is call 1-800-228-2876. Mention the ” 2007 Sacred Music Workshop” in order to get the special rate. Reservations should be made on or before February 1, 2007.

We have a number of priests and others contact us about the version of the Our Father we are now using in liturgy. We’ve been very pleased with it. Unlike the standard version, which has a downward trend in its melody, this version is much closer to the Latin by using an upward motion in its melody.

It is a bit unfamiliar sounding but that can be a good thing if it causing people to think more about what they are praying. And it is very easy to learn.
Here is the sheet music (in neumes) and here is a quick recording we did last night with high voices only.

The idea here is to move from the English to Latin at Lent, and the transition is made more smooth by the similarity of the melody.

Recent cold weather here in Alabama brought to mind a wonderful feast the schola shared a little over a year ago. Member Anna Smith treated the group to a spicey and steaming pot of New Orleans style Jambalaya, which did wonders at warming our spirits and clearing our vocal passages.

Gather your forces and make a pot this weekend, or schedule a Mardi Gras party featuring this fabulous dish. Plan on singing through your entire repertoire, especially those motets which contain the word “Alleluia!”

If Andouille sausage is not available in your area, you can order some here.

Ham and Sausage Jambalaya

1 ½ lbs hot sausage, preferably Andouille, diced

3 tablespoons oil

1 lb ham, diced

4 onions, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

4 or 5 ribs of celery, including some leaves, chopped

1 large can crushed tomatoes (or 4 fresh tomatoes, chopped)

6 cups beef or chicken stock (or a combination of the two)

4 cloves garlic, chopped

4 bay leaves

¼ teaspoon powdered cloves

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1 sprig of thyme (or ½ teaspoon powdered thyme)

1 teaspoon chili powder

4 cups uncooked long-grain rice

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

black and cayenne pepper and salt, to taste

In a large (8-quart) pan sauté the sausage and the ham for a few minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and the celery, and cook until the vegetables are limp. Add the tomatoes and the stock and simmer for about 30 minutes. Near the end of the 30 minutes of simmering, add the spices.

Add the rice and bring the mixture to a boil; cover the pan then reduce the heat to very low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir. If jambalaya seems dry, add some more stock, then simmer, covered for about 10 minutes more. Add the green onions and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to “rest” for 5 – 10 minutes.

Jubilate Deo by Orlando di Lasso, added to the sidebar, and, we hope, added to our repertoire.