The Catholic Week of the Archdiocese of Mobile this week featured a front page announcement of the chant workshop at Cathedral about which there have been marvelous reports, especially from those who attended the final Mass. The workshop schola sang all the propers of the Mass according to the Graduale, and the fact of this progress has drawn some degree of national attention.

It would be impossible to express how exciting it is to see such progress being made in uniting music in such an integral way with the Mass. It is especially encouraging to scholas like ours in parishes in the archdiocese to be able to look to the Cathedral as a model for the liturgical arts. We all must express deep gratitude to Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb for encouraging these developments and being so supportive of the hard work of musicians who seek to accomplish what the Church is asking of us.

The 4th Annual Sacred Music Workshop will be here sooner than we know it. It is not too early to register online.

Thanks to a generous donation, a limited number of scholarships are available. Please write us to apply.

If you find you cannot come yourself, you might consider making a donation that would permit someone else to benefit from the expert instruction and fellowship with like-minded parish musicians - your choir director, a volunteer singer or organist, your pastor, or anyone who is interested in doing what Rome is calling for and breathing new life back into the chant tradition in your parish. Deo Gratias.

The Archdiocese of Mobile has graciously agreed to underwrite the Gregorian chant workshop taking place this coming Saturday, December 2nd. There will be no charge for participants.

Read more about the workshop here.

Our parish will use the Christus Vincit as a processional chant for Christ the King. Here is the program for the liturgy.

Professor William Mahrt has written an inspiring letter about sacred music.

And from this site, here is a gorgeous image of our patron Saint

If your parish has five Masses for Sunday, one of them should be in Latin, says Cardinal Arinze, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship.

GREGORIAN CHANT WORKSHOP

On Saturday, December 2, Cathedral Music Director Paul Hanebuth will present “Gregorian Chant in the Liturgy” at the Rectory for the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Government St.  The one-day seminar will give participants an overview of the 1500-year history of Gregorian chant, and concentrate on current scholarship into performance practice in the context of both concerts and church services.

Chant practice within the Christian Church was codified during the time of Pope Gregory I (“the Great”); these chants were the only Christian sacred music performed until the advent of polyphony in the fifteenth century.  During the European upheavals of the nineteenth century, much of this vast repertoire of music was in acute danger of being lost forever.  Due mainly to the work of the monks of Solesmes Abbey (France) during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, manuscripts up to 1200 years old have been preserved, studied, and organized into collections useful to the present day.  Analyzing the differences between manuscript copies of the same chant from different locations and times has allowed chant scholars to deduce much about rhythms, modes, and melodic interpretation that is not indicated in chants hand-copied before the invention of modern notation.     During the workshop at the Cathedral, Mr. Hanebuth will discuss the impact of these historical events, as well as current performance practice according to the scholarship of the monks of Solesmes and scholars at the Vatican and elsewhere.

Mr. Hanebuth has studied the history and performance of chant with Theodore Marier and Scott Turkington of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School, Fr. Daniel Saulnier of Solesmes Abbey, Lawrence Harris of the Canadian Symposium on Music in Liturgy, and Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, of St. John’s Abbey.  The Cathedral-Pontifical Choir, which he directs, performs Gregorian chant weekly at cathedral masses.

There will be a minimal charge for the presentation to cover the cost of materials and lunch for participants.  The event will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m.; participants will then be invited to apply their newly-acquired skills in performing the beautiful Proper Chants for the First Sunday of Advent at the 4:30 mass at the Cathedral.

CHORAL VESPERS

On December 3, 10, and 17, the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception will present Advent Choral Vespers at 4:30 p.m.  A “mini-recital” will precede each service; featured performers are the Heim duo (flute and guitar), T.J. Dezauche (tenor), and Mobile’s Singing Children.  The beautiful evening prayer service is a continuation of the centuries-old monastic tradition of praying Biblical texts, especially the Psalms, several times daily in an attempt to follow St. Paul’s admonition to “pray without ceasing”.  Led by the Cathedral-Pontifical Choir, under the direction of Paul Hanebuth, the Vespers feature both ancient and new musical settings of psalms and canticles during a service that is almost entirely sung.  The choir will also perform classic Advent choral repertoire, such as “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” by Paul Manz and the anonymous 16th century setting of “Rejoice in the Lord Alway”.  Vespers is a beautifully moving way to meditate and prepare for Jesus’ coming on Christmas Day.  All are invited to attend these free presentations.

For more information on cathedral events, please contact Paul Hanebuth at 434-1573 or cathmusic@bellsouth.net

Cardinal Francis Arinze, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, spoke at the Gateway Liturgical Conference in St. Louis, and said that the Mass in Latin (fully in Latin, not just the sung ordinary) should be offered weekly in cities, and monthly in smaller parish outside the city. Here is the article.

Please see these wonderful treasures, online for the first time:

• Full Text of the entire Graduale 1961
• Proprium de Tempore (Propers of the Liturgical Year only)
• Proprium Sanctorum (Propers of the Saints)
• Ordinarium Missae (Kyriale)
• Index of the 1974 Graduale (find the chant for the new rite and use the files above)

Several schola members are helping out with a planned recital of English Anthems. The group is singing some of our favorites, and some new material as well. Here are some that are especially useful in Catholic liturgy:

• If Ye Love Me, by Thomas Tallis (PDF) (Midi)
• O Lord, Increase My Faith, by Henry Loosemore (mis-attributed to Gibbons) (PDF) (Midi)
• Hear My Prayer, O Lord, by Henry Purcell (PDF) (Midi)
• Lord, For Thy Tender Mercy’s Sake, by Richard Farrant (PDF) (Midi)
• O Lord Give They Holy Spirit, by Thomas Tallis (PDF) (Midi)
• Prevent Us, Lord, by C.H.H. Parry (PDF) (Midi)

You may have taken Latin in college, but unless you were around in preconciliar days or are privileged to attend a Latin Novus Ordo Mass on a regular basis, chances are you could use some brushing up on your liturgical Latin.

Author Marion Smedberg offers a new book and accompanying audio CD, Understanding the Latin Mass: Hear and Learn the words of the Novus Ordo, that will help you delve into a fuller and more prayerful understanding of the language spoken and sung ever more frequently at Mass in your parish.

Recommended by clergy:

Marion Smedberg’s book, Understanding the Latin Mass, is exceptional. We used her materials to instruct my parishioners in the basics of the Latin liturgy, enabling them to fully participate in the Latin Mass as Vatican II intended.

Father Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.
Pastor, St. John the Beloved Catholic Church, McLean, VA

Read more here

Singers should always do their best to convey joy within the chant tradition when it is appropriate to do so—not in the same earth-bound way that contemporary pop music does but in a manner that points to transcendent joy, infused with the mysterious awe that comes from reflection on the final victory over death.

Thus this weekend’s communio: Laetabimur

It begins with rejoicing in long and melismatic phrase. Economy is given up in favor of extended exuberance. The schola joins by picking the phrase and taking it to its highest point in the middle of the word salvation. The name of the Lord follows with two successive affirmations of the Trinity. We end with the phrase on “magnificabimur” in which the last syllable seems to wait and wait until the last possible moment. The “mur” here recalls the initial “mur” in laetabimur.

Joy and pride in our God!

Different chants require subtle changes in tempo but this one should be sung on the faster end of the metronome. We are attempting about 184 beats per minute for the punctum—which is quite fast, faster the adult heart pulses during strenuous exercise but on the upper end of a child’s pulse after play. The same sense is conveyed here in a contained and upward looking way. This is the song of salvation. Learn it for Sunday and you will carry it in your heart all week.

Here is a version you can print and learn, with Psalms.