Category: Adam Bartlett

As promised, I now offer my concluding thoughts on the CMAA 2011 Winter Chant Intensive.

As I mentioned in my first post last week, I had a few particular objectives in attending my first CMAA training event. My objectives surely are unique to me, and I am not speaking for the entire group that attended. Every participant comes from a different situation, a different location, a different background, and surely everyone walked away from the Intensive with something different. This is surely one of the most beautiful things about such an event, and the results were truly wonderful.

My first objective was to grow intellectually in the art and science of singing and directing Gregorian chant. Toward this aim the advanced group sat at the feet of Dr. William Mahrt, venerable musicologist and Stanford professor, for up to 7 hours each day. Anyone who has had the opportunity to simply sit and listen to a scholar in old age who has spent his entire life delving the depths of the topics that he is discussing knows what a sublime experience this is. Better still is the opportunity to discuss topics and ask questions in a seminar setting. What might take a person many years to understand on their own can suddenly be presented to them in thorough and breathtaking clarity. Such was the case in Dr. Mahrt’s sessions. Even if he spent a half-hour or more arriving at a single point, following the journey to arrive at that point is almost as valuable than the point itself for aspiring scholars, musicians and artists. These sorts of opportunities cannot be passed up, and I am so very grateful for the opportunity to soak in all that Dr. Mahrt had to offer this past week.

My second objective was to consider methods of chant interpretation other than the one that I have been primarily trained in. My training in chant has primarily been in what is called the “New Solesmes” school, or the “Cardine” or “Semiological” school. I knew previously that Dr. Mahrt does not adhere strictly to a single school of thought, but that he uses elements of both schools of thought, including others such as Domincan chant, and his own insights from studying the writings of Medieval theorists. I also knew that in practice much of what is taught at CMAA events relies very heavily on the methodology of what is often called the “Old Solesmes” method, or the “Ward Method”. These systematic methodologies were advanced by Doms Mocquereau and Gajard in the first part of the 20th c. and also by Justine Ward in her practical instructions on the singing of chant.

I found it very interesting, then, that one of Dr. Mahrt’s first topics was a discussion of the different schools of thought in the practice of singing Gregorian chant. I was personally very excited to see him hand out photocopies of the Mass Propers for the Feast of the Epiphany from the Graduale Triplex, which contains 10th c. manuscripts which are the subject of Gregorian Semiology, and asked everyone to sing from this edition. I could see on the faces of many seasoned chanters in the room a sort of wide-eyed or mildly bewildered look as they looked at these pages, some for the first time. Many of the singers present had the “Old Solesmes” system down so cold that I can imagine that they saw very little value in the early manuscripts. In fact, as we sight-read through some of these pieces for the first time a perfectly nice result was achieved. All of the pitches were correct, the text was sung with correct pronunciation, the lengthenings were conventional and unified, surely for some this was a perfectly acceptable performance for any Sunday parish liturgy. But Dr. Mahrt insisted that there was so much more to be found in the chants in regard to their rhythm, to their expression, and that the early manuscripts found in the Graduale Triplex contained so much of this information which simply could not be found in the modern square note editions.

Dr. Mahrt worked very hard throughout our singing of these proper chants over the course of the week to get us away from a tendency to slightly stress every successive note in a chant melody. He described how Medieval theorists described a neume as a single movement, a single stroke of the breath, and that many of the ancient neumes similarly contained in one stroke of the pen 5 or often more notes. Our goal was to sing these neumes in a legato and flowing manner as such. He also tried relentlessly to get us singers to away from “doubling” notes with horizontal episema, and the first note of the quilisma. Many of the singers had great struggles with this, and seemed to continue to fall back into patterns of even accentuation, and of strictly doubling notes since they laid so nicely in a pattern of equal pulses. I also found it very interesting that both conductors verbally reprimanded the doubling of these two notes, yet I observed that in their conducting they very often conducted these notes in a manner that was perfectly doubled according to the established more or less equal “pulse”! I say this in good fun, and with the greatest respect for both Mahrt and Turkington, and only mention it as an observation that I have made in the practice of a school of interpretation that I have little experience with.

There came early in the course of our singing of the Epiphany propers a sudden command from Dr. Mahrt: “Okay, why don’t just ‘count out’ this phrase”. And what followed was a perfectly unified singing of “1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2…” on the pitches of the chant in question by the majority of the singers in the room–all except for three. I personally have NEVER counted a chant in 2’s and 3’s. I don’t even know how, actually! And another singer who had sung chant as a child in London sat still with a look of bewilderment. After this was concluded she softly raised her hand and politely asked “might I kindly ask what is this counting that we’re doing?” We all had a good laugh and Dr. Mahrt gave a brief description of the “Old Solesmes” method to those who weren’t familiar with it. I find it very interesting, though, that the entire group proceeded to sing the same music together without a strict reliance on a single mode of thought. I do think, though, that the Old Solesmes method was not able to be overcome by the end of the session. This was the predominant influence on the group of singers, and many of the nuanced elements of rhythm and expression proposed by Dr. Mahrt seemed not to stick. It is not that the end result was not beautiful–it was in its own way. But I found this very interesting to observe, and I wonder if an approach that begins with a rhythm that is found first in the text, and in the ancient neumes might produce different results.

So overall I found the advanced session to be very enriching in a multitude of ways. My only disappointment is that we seemed only to begin to scratch the surface in exploring a more nuanced singing of the chant, especially by means of analyzing the information that is found in the early manuscripts. The singing itself, in the end, did not seem to go too far beyond the rudiments of the Old Solesmes method, and I suspect that many of the singers and directors in the session were prepared for a more in depth exploration of the elements of chant interpretation. I personally would love to see in future “advanced” sessions a more thorough or even systematic consideration of the elements of Gregorian Semiology, which, after my experience of the Chant Intensive, I see not so much as conflicting with Old Solesmes, so much as I see it as a continuation of what began in the Old Solesmes Method.

My third objective in attending the Chant Intensive was to consider, on the part of my diocesan Office of Worship, how training seminars like those put on by the CMAA could supplement the training and catechesis that will be taking place in the coming year as we prepare for the implementation of the new translation of the Roman Missal in Advent of 2011. The events put on by the CMAA have been in the forefront of the chant training efforts in the United States for the past several years, and I was very happy to observe how the task was handled. I must say that the entire week was orchestrated in a very balanced way and I think that similar scaled-down versions could be offered on the diocesan level with the intention of embracing the implementation of the new translation as an opportunity grow in our ability to sing the Mass. This means that priests and deacons need to be trained to sing their part, and that musicians also can understand the role that they play in the liturgy which involves singing the proper of the Mass, and leading the congregation in the singing of their parts which primarily include the Order of Mass and the Ordinary of the Mass. I can’t wait to implement these sorts of training programs in my own diocese as we prepare for the new translation of the Roman Missal.

And finally, my fourth objective was to take a week of spiritual retreat. One of the most beautiful things about the Chant Intensive was connection to the sacraments. Every day participants were given the opportunity to attend daily Mass, in either the Ordinary or Extraordinary Form, and to avail themselves to a sacramental confession if it was desired. This is the fundamental difference between studying Gregorian chant in a sterile classroom environment, and studying it within the framework of the liturgical life of the Church. The highlight of the week, without a doubt, was the solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form that concluded the week of study. Both choirs prepared portions of the sung liturgy, dividing up propers, in singing together Kyriale Mass IX. The ceremonial was complete and the ministers executed the rites with solemn dignity and beauty. There were many parishioners of St. Patrick’s Parish who also attended the liturgy and vocally participated in the Order of Mass and much of the Ordinary as well.

What I found particularly striking in this liturgy was that the main celebrant, Fr. Klores, pastor of St. Patrick’s in New Orleans, took up the desire of Pope Benedict XVI that both the EF and OF should mutually enrich each other. Many traditionalists perhaps see this as an opportunity for the OF to conform to the EF, but I was very edified by the Epistle and Gospel which were both sung prominently and solemnly in the vernacular, and by the Pater Noster which was sung not just by the priest, but in full by the congregation. My experience of liturgy has primarily been and remains in the OF, and I was so inspired by the pastoral decision to implement these two developments which find their origin in the liturgical reforms of Sacrosanctum Concilium. It is this sort of enrichment of the Roman Rite that is the future of the liturgy, I think. Needless to say this liturgical celebration was among the most beautiful and prayerful acts of worship that I have ever participated in. God was given worship befitting a King, and the souls present, including my own, were edified and sanctified.

All in all, the 2011 Winter Chant Intensive was a wonderful success and a very welcomed time of retreat and study. I am thankful to God for the work that the CMAA is doing in encouraging and training musicians in the music of the Roman Rite, and for doing so with a vital connection to the font of grace that is the Eucharistic liturgy and the sacraments.

Today was the final day of the CMAA 2011 Winter Chant Intensive. The morning began with a rehearsal for both choirs, beginning and advanced, for the afternoon Mass, which was followed by a brief final session and a seafood Jambalaya lunch. What was surely the high point of the entire week followed in the solemn celebration of the Mass according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

What followed this for most of the attendees was a long day of travel back home, as was the case for me. I will post a Chant Intensive wrap-up tomorrow, perhaps even with some recordings from today’s liturgy. I will follow up on my objectives in attending the event, and share some of the insights I’ve gained. But this will come after some rest–They don’t call it an “intensive” for nothing!

It was a wonderful, fraternal, insightful and arduous week. Thanks be to God for the fantastic work that the CMAA is doing in training sacred musicians for faithful service to the Church and her sacred liturgy.

And so today was the last full day of the the Winter Chant Intensive. Tomorrow participants will have a brief session in the morning, a rehearsal for the closing Mass, and then a liturgy in the Extraordinary Form in Old St. Patrick’s Church with a full sung Gregorian chant proper, Mass IX, and Te Deum in an organ alternatim setting played by B. Andrew Mills. Many of us will be heading straight for the airport at the conclusion of tomorrow afternoon’s Mass in order to get back to our parishes for the weekend. The week has gone by so quickly, I’m sure than many of us will hate to see it end.

Today was the Feast of the Epiphany in the EF calendar, and so at lunch today we got to have some authentic New Orleans “King Cake” which is a traditional way to celebrate the Epiphany, and, so I’m told, it also is a sign of the beginning of the Mardi Gras season! Here it is:

And here is a shot of some of the participants at lunch time in the beautiful St. Patrick’s rectory:

Today’s chant sessions continued to focus on the repertoire for tomorrow’s sung liturgy, and also covered topics such as a further study of the development of the manuscript tradition, and chant hymns and sequences. I had the pleasure of sneaking into the “beginner’s session” led by Scott Turkington. Since I’ve never been in one of Scott’s training sessions I was very glad to see how he handles the task. I must say that he truly has mastered the art of training amateur chanters. The group sang so well and seemed to have picked up a vast amount of information and knowledge in a very short amount of time. It will be very interesting to see how the beginning and advanced groups sing together tomorrow in both rehearsal and liturgy. I can see already that the two conductors, Turkington and Mahrt, have taken at times very different approaches to the same pieces. This should indeed make for an interesting result when the two choirs are combined!

I also had the pleasure this evening of touring the French Quarter. One of the Intensive attendees who is a resident and member of Andrew Mills’ schola cantorum gave a few of us a most fascinating tour of the quarter which is truly one of the most unique places I’ve been. We had some gumbo and a muffaletta at the Napolean House and coffee and a beignet at Café du Monde. I also have to concede that my casual comment about Bourbon Street in my opening post was a bit uninformed… let me suffice it to say that I now have a fuller understanding of the place and would encourage anyone who has much concern for the state of their soul to not spend much time there! Maybe I’m a little green–wow, wasn’t expecting that!

On a more sacral note… I absolutely love how the New Orleans cathedral is placed directly front and center in the French Quarter. This is a sign of a culture that was built around the Catholic Faith (though certain parts not too far away seemed to have wandered a bit away from the fold!). I snapped a few shots, one of the front of the cathedral from the levee near the river, and one from the back of the church where a haunting shadow of Christ is cast upon the wall from a statue in the courtyard:

And so the last evening draws to a close. I will try to secure some recordings of tomorrows liturgy and post them for all to hear.

This morning the winter chant intensive participants woke up to rain showers in New Orleans. This made for a rather wet walk to morning Mass for some, and a misty walk to class for others.

In the advanced session the day was mostly spent rehearsing music for the concluding liturgy on Friday afternoon. This involved the singing of the entire proper for the Feast of the Epiphany, Mass IX, the Te Deum and eucharistic hymns for benediction.

Here are a few pictures from today’s sessions:

After day two of the CMAA Winter Chant Intensive I have made the realization that the event is aptly named! A day at the intensive begins at 9:00AM and concludes at 6:00PM with a break in the afternoon for Mass and lunch. Now, I’ve studied chant with the Benedictines (ora et labora), and even they don’t spend this much time in the classroom each day! But I have concluded that the attendees have a real and authentic desire for knowledge and for improving their understanding of and skills in the singing of Gregorian chant. It is undoubtedly a love of Christ, of his Church, of the liturgy, and of the normative music of the Roman Rite that impels all of those who participate in an event like this.

Today it seemed as though everyone has settled in nicely and a real unity of purpose was at work. The advanced session and the beginner session are taking place on the 1st and 2nd floor of the same building, respectively, and the advanced session (the section I’m participating in) which has thus far involved much more lecture, discussion and lecture than singing, has thoroughly “enjoyed”… the lovely singing of scales, modes, Kyries and office hymns from above, with the occasional 15 minute serenade of a bell choral in the half-hour preceding noon Mass. It truly makes one concentrate very closely to the subject matter!

In the advanced session today I was very pleased that we continued to explore the early neumes found in the Graduale Triplex, and also that we surveyed briefly the continuation of the manuscript tradition. Much time was spent discussing and singing the Mass propers for the Feast of the Epiphany, which we will sing in liturgy at the end of the week.

Among the most fascinating things about the advanced group, I have found that 1. all singers are quite fluent in chant and have no problem sight-reading through virtually any chant in the gradual, and that there is a real desire to go beyond the rudiments of just singing the right pitches, and 2. the nature of the discussion often swirls in wonderful directions that range from history, theory and interpretation, and seamlessly into practical matters and frank discussions about the realities of our current liturgical culture context. There are scholars in the group (no less than Dr. Edward Shaefer!), priests, seminarians, music directors, choristers, and the like. And all bring a very insightful perspective to our discussion of these issues. Every perspective contributes something that is needed in the conversation. A very holistic experience seems to happening in this group, and it is very exciting to be a part of it.

I look forward to going deeper into the depths with Dr. Mahrt this week. I think that the group is also ready for this. The chant intensive advanced session seems to be an ideal venue to climb up to the mountain top and gaze around for a while. Especially since so much of our time is spent in the valley of parish life, doing the work that is necessary to impact real change in our liturgical music culture.

Many of the attendees are also getting out into the city and viewing its beauty and charm, and, – per the recommendation of the hosting pastor – getting a taste of the city as well! A few of us made our way over to the Notre Dame Seminary Chapel (pictured above) for a service of Eucharistic adoration and benediction with some of the local college-aged residents, and walked across the street afterward for a taste of authentic Cajun cuisine! With the recommendation of my good friend and New Orleans native Todd I went for the oyster and bacon po’ boy and a local amber ale. And my other new friends went for a red-fish with crawdad (or something like that!).

All-in-all it has made for a great day. I look forward to all that is in store for the next.

Well, all of the participants in the 2011 CMAA Chant Intensive arrived safely in New Orleans for the start of the first session this afternoon. Many attendees greeted each other as old friends while others met for the first time. Two Chant Café bloggers, Charles and myself, encountered each other in the flesh for the very first time. And several others are simply seeking the chant intensive with the sole desire of increasing their skills in sacred music to be better equipped for their service to the Church.

Dr. Mahrt’s advanced session began with topics that ranged from a discussion of the different schools of thought in Gregorian chant interpretation, the relationship between text and melody, the role of memory in singing chant, and the nature of chant as an aural tradition.

Most of us are exhausted after a long day of travel and acclimation to the area. I am personally exhausted and can hardly keep my eyes open long enough to finish this post. I will continue to provide day-end updates, though, on the happenings of the intensive. We have a great group of people, a beautiful church, wonderfully hospitable hosts, and a wonderful urban setting. It’s sure to be a great week for us all!

Today after morning Mass at my parish I packed my bags and rushed out the door toward my first official CMAA event–the 2011 Winter Chant Intensive.

I made it to the Phoenix airport on time, successfully boarded the plane and made it as far as sunny Tucson, AZ, where I am currently, in a Holiday Inn, because my actual flight to New Orleans was canceled. Oh well, such is life. The good news, I suppose, is that Continental Airlines paid for my hotel room, dinner and shuttle service that I would have had to have covered otherwise, and it seems that I will still make it in time for the beginning of the first session. But 4:30 tomorrow morning will come very quickly, so I’ll make this brief. As long as my iPhone alarm will actually go off (unlike this morning) I should be off to meet many of my, up-until-this-point, cyber-colleagues in the flesh for the first time. Maybe I’ll ask for a wake-up call!

Assuming that I arrive safely in New Orleans tomorrow I plan to liveblog the Chant Intensive, at least daily, with the happenings of the event, pictures, insights I’ve gained, and so on.

I have several personal aspirations for the Intensive:

1. First and foremost I look forward to absorbing the seasoned and refined musicological and practical knowledge of Dr. William Mahrt, President of the CMAA and instructor of the “advanced class”.

2. I have a particular interest in studying and participating in a school of thought in Gregorian chant interpretation other than the one that I have been primarily trained in, and in which I commonly practice my direction and singing of chant. Many here are surely familiar with the different schools of thought in the world of Gregorian chant. The two primary schools that are operational in the world of actual Catholic liturgical music are the school of the “Classic Solesmes Method”, or “Old Solesmes” and the “Semiological”, or “New Solesmes” school (which is the arena in which I have studied and practice chant interpretation). Some who are new to the world of chant might be surprised, even shocked, at how impassioned debates between these two schools of thought can get! A part of my quest in attending this event is to observe the real similarities and differences between the two schools of thought, and to dispel, at least in my own mind, the myths that have come to be in the “impassioned debates” and to assess, especially against the backdrop of our current situation in the liturgical life of parishes, the areas of overlap and of continuity between the two “schools” of thought. Interestingly, I am told that Dr. Mahrt is not a strict adherent to either school, being that his background is in Dominican chant and in academic musicology. Whatever the result, I’m sure the experience will be most enriching and informative.

3. I also have as an object of my participation in the Winter Chant Intensive a consideration of how training events such as these can be applied to the educational and formational efforts of my own Diocesan Office of Worship. Many great things are happening in the Diocese of Phoenix, and I have been sent in part by the Worship Office to consider how the Diocese might incorporate training in chant into the effort of ‘New Translation Catechesis’, both for parish music directors and musicians, and also for priests.

4. Lastly, I look forward to a week of focused study and spiritual retreat. From the looks of the week’s schedule this will not just be an academic exercise in Gregorian theory, but also an immersion in Gregorian chant as liturgical prayer, as it ought to be.

So the week is sure to be a great one. I personally cannot wait. Watch daily for updates on the happenings of the Intensive, and maybe even some pictures from New Orleans nightlife–from the looks of the schedule, dinner appears to be found in the restaurants on Bourbon Street (though I promised my 4-year old princess that I would visit “Tiana’s Place” one night). I reckon I’m gunna havtuh get me s’m jambalaya!