Love of Chant in Houston, Texas

The key difference I’ve noticed at the Chant Practicum in Houston, Texas, as compared with past years, is the notable absence of doubt about the chant agenda.

There are nearly 100 people here from many different parishes here, and they have all come to learn chant, so there is of course a selection bias. Even so, one might usually expect to encounter people who have been sent against their will or otherwise have doubts about the need to re-introduce Gregorian chant into the mainstream of Catholic life.

Those doubts just aren’t present here. Everyone is excited to learn and learn as much as possible. Every session has been well attended, and the participants are sitting on the edge of their seats as the instructors lead them in singing a full range of chant, covering rhythm, melody, text, all while having loads of fun!

It is no longer a question of whether we should go this direction but rather how to go this direction, at what pace, in what manner, and a variety of other practical issues. This change is a welcome relief because it means get to the work faster and doing a more complete job of it, without having to deal extensively with fundamental questions about the place of chant in the ritual. William Mahrt did give a foundational lecture that highlighted some detail about the integration of chant in liturgy – making some points I had not heard before. But in general, the ethos here in this cathedral is that chant is Catholic music and that’s that.

Houston has several parishes that are showing the way, and the Cathedral itself has an exemplary program with a professional organist and choirmaster that produce excellent results every week, and reliably so. Sacred music seems to be firmly entrenched here, supported by clergy, professional musicians, and the laity.

This conference is structured a bit differently than others. There is a class for women. There is a class for men. (Actually the division here is not between sexes but between ranges of voices; there are women who sing in a lower range and men who prefer their falsetto range, and they are welcome to join the group of their choice). There is also a class for advanced singers (mixed voices) that discusses details about chant editions and the early manuscripts, and delves into the finer points with longer and more elaborate chants.

My sense is that this division has worked. It will probably be necessary for most chant conferences to go this direction in the future because the Catholic population is ever more filled with people who understand the basics and are ready to move forward.

The mood here is ebullient, the kind of feeling you get from being part of a something wonderful and new and progressive. There is no question that the time for chant has arrived and that everyone knows this. If Summorum opened up the riches of our heritage, the forthcoming Missal seals the deal.

I’m also impressed at the technological sophistication of many attendees here. They are using the internet resources being made available week by week. I’ve many many people who are already using the Bartlett Simple Propers that are being posted here week by week. The common chants from the Graduale are well known. It is possible to talk freely and with the expectation of comprehension about propers and the Mass ordinary and various tones and modes – and to do so without looking out at confused looks. The education we all longed for is happening day by day.

Of course this is one of a long string of conferences going on nearly every week around the country. The original ones were sponsored by the Church Music Association of America, but thanks to the CMAA’s open-source model, and the availability of chant manuscripts, many others are doing this. My in-box now receives more notifications of chant workshops than I can possibly post. I would estimate that there will be 40-50 Gregorian chant workshops around the country taking place this year alone. Ten years ago, there were one or two.

For me, this is a dream coming true. These are exciting times to be a Catholic singer, as we see the ideal spreading with such enthusiasm and excitement. Imagine a future of parishes filled with happy, dedicated singers who are on a mission, a mission from God, as they saying goes. This is what is happening. The desert is starting to bloom, and thanks be to God for that.