Chant Café

Observe and listen. This type of thing — so simple, beautiful, rooted in tradition but looking forward to the future — was not common at St. Peters for decades. What’s more, he has done what even Pius X tried and failed to accomplish in fixing music at the Vatican. There is no preconciliar recording or video at St. Peters that sounds this great.

I started singing at ordinary form Mass probably 12 years ago or so, and I remember the bad old days, all too well. In the early days, it was all about hymn picking and trying to make sense of silly Psalms and unsatisfying Mass settings. It took forever and it was not very satisfying. Actually, it was grim.

Next came the improvements: better Mass settings, better chanted Psalm, eliminating extraneous noisy stuff like a purple “Great Amen” and the like. We fixed one thing at a time and became better and better. But still, those hymns!

Then we discovered Mass propers. At least we had some parameters.

Then came the Parish Book of Chant. That was glorious because now we could actually tap into our great musical history. It was archeological work, and singing this music seem to make the Roman Rite more authentic.

Then came the flood. The Simple English Propers. Communio. The Parish Book of Psalms. The Missal Chants.

Now when I arrive on Sunday morning, I know exactly what to do. The confusion is over. The music is right there, a given. I know what to practice and how to make it happen.

The distance between way back then and now is truly night and day. Every week, I find myself so thankful for these great resources. They’ve changed everything.

Here is a really nice piece from EWTN news that quotes Cafe posters extensively:

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be remembered in Church history for his work to recover the beauty of traditional liturgy, according to Bishop James D. Conley.

The head of the Lincoln, Neb. Diocese, who has been reading Benedict’s writings on liturgy for decades, said these works “will remain a great contribution to liturgical theology for years to come.”

“His great legacy,” Bishop Conley told EWTN News Feb. 27, “will be the re-discovery of the beauty of the traditional liturgy.”

Benedict awakened a “new way” of looking at the ordinary form of the Mass – the liturgy which came after the 1960s Second Vatican Council – “with a greater attempt to be more attentive to the rubrics.”

In the former pontiff’s view, Mass should be celebrated with beauty, dignity, and in continuity with the tradition of the Church, Bishop Conley noted.
Benedict’s liturgical legacy also includes his “blessing” of those “who have a great attachment to the old Mass” and who are in union with the Holy See, the bishop said.

In 2007, Pope Benedict released a directive titled “Summorum pontificum,” which in a “watershed moment,” gave every priest permission to say Mass using the 1962, or pre-Vatican II Missal.

“He made it one of his priorities to…introduce the ‘hermeneutic of continuity’, trying to show that the pre-conciliar liturgy of the 1962 Missal is the same liturgy as the Roman Missal of Pope Paul VI,” the bishop explained.

Pope Benedict “allowed the traditions to harmonize…so the cross-pollination could take place; so the very best of the reforms of the post-conciliar liturgy could be enhanced and influenced, by an open, unbiased acceptance of the Mass that preceded it.”

Bishop Conley believes that Pope Benedict has allowed the pre-conciliar liturgy to flourish alongside of the post-conciliar liturgy “in a hope that some of the transcendence, the beauty, the tradition, the Latin” will permeate the new liturgy.

The Pope’s own manner of celebrating Mass, including subtle “symbolic gestures” have “sent a message” and have had “a catechetical value” for both priests and faithful, said Bishop Conley.

These gestures include distributing Communion to the faithful kneeling; beautiful vestments and those which had fallen into disuse; ensuring a cross and candles are on the altar; and celebrating facing the same direction as the faithful, all elements of a “reform of the reform of the liturgy.”

“He even created a new way of looking at the two traditions,” reflected Bishop Conley, “the extraordinary form and the ordinary form.” Pope Benedict coined these terms in “Summorum pontificum,” to refer to pre and post Vatican liturgies respectively.

“They’re two parts of the same form, and of the same Roman rite: that’s what he really wanted to emphasize by that change in language.”

Transcendence and beauty

Pope Benedict has long been “trying to recover that sense of transcendence and beauty of the liturgy,” reflected the bishop.

Part of this effort was his involvement in the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. Bishop Conley noted the former Roman pontiff’s concern that the Latin prayers be translated both accurately and “also with a sense of beauty in the language.”

The bishop also noted Pope Benedict’s creation in November of a “Pontifical Academy for Latin.” He sees this as tied to the Pontiff’s desire to increase the use of Latin in the Church’s life, including in her liturgy.

Bishop Conley also noted how Pope Benedict’s vision was shaped by the Liturgical Movement of the early 20th century, an effort that called for a reform of the Church’s worship, led largely by Benedictines.

“He knew the great players of the Liturgical Movement back before the Council,” the bishop said.

One of his major writings on the liturgy was his 2000 work “The Spirit of the Liturgy.” That publication hearkened back to a book of the same name by Father Romano Guardini, known as one of those “great players.”

In “The Spirit of the Liturgy,”  Benedict – as a theologian writing before his rise to the papacy – encouraged a “New Liturgical Movement” that would recall the best elements of the first Liturgical Movement.

Benedict’s concern with beauty and liturgy is not one of mere aesthetics, Bishop Conley noted, but flows from a recognition that liturgical prayer is the “source and summit” of the Christian life, as the Second Vatican Council taught.

“A lot of people are talking about the impact that he’s had on the Church, and you certainly have to say that the liturgy is going to be one; primarily because he took such a personal interest in it and he believed that…everything flows from prayer,” said Bishop Conley.

“That’s what he said when he announced his resignation, that he made this decision after deep prayer. And now he’s going to a life of deep meditation and contemplation, and all that centers on the Eucharist, and the liturgical worship of the Church, which he very much has a profound love for.”

This just came in:

Exciting New Scholarship Opportunity for Music Students at Ave Maria University

The Ave Maria University Department of Music is pleased to announce that three types of scholarship are now available for music majors.  Students who apply and audition for the music major will be considered for a brand new merit scholarship for musical ability.  This is in addition to excellent academic scholarships that AMU offers based on GPA as well as ACT/SAT scores.  Finally, private lessons in voice, piano, and organ are subsidized for music majors at AMU.

 Ave Maria University offers a comprehensive music education that goes beyond the curricular bounds that even large schools of music employ.  Our broad-based curriculum will prepare students for musical leadership in various capacities and circumstances.  Because we focus on the keyboard and vocal arts, we provide our students with a richly individualized academic and performance experience.  Personal attention to the musical and intellectual formation of our students, with a special emphasis on the musical heritage of the Catholic Church, forms the basis of our educational philosophy.

Many of our students have gone on to serve the Church in music in parishes across the United States, and several of our graduates have been admitted to highly competitive graduate programs in music at such institutions as the Westminster Choir College of Rider University.  Two graduates are currently enrolled in doctoral programs in organ performance at the University of Southern California and the University of Iowa.

The next Auditions Weekend at Ave Maria University will be April 5-6.  For more information, or to schedule an audition, please contact Professor Rebecca Ostermann at rebecca.ostermann@avemaria.edu

There is a wonderful interview with Archbishop-designate Sample in the National Catholic Register where he speaks, among other things, about the importance of liturgical renewal for the New Evangelization.

Here are a few highlights:

An opportunity to learn Level 1 Ward Method without having to travel abroad! This 8 day workshop will be offered at St. John the Evangelist Church situated in Calgary, Alberta under the instruction and guidance of Dr. Alise Brown from the University of Northern Colorado.

Dates:

The entire 8-day, 45hr workshop will take place on:

Tuesday – Friday June 4-7^th as well as Monday -Thursday June10-13^th.

(Class runs 8:30-12:30AM, lunch break, 1:30-3:30PM most days except last day which is a half-day)

About the instructor:

       Dr. Alise Brown is an instructor of music education at UNC, specializing in music literacy and expressivity as taught in the Ward Method. She holds Orff and Kodaly training, and is fully certified in all levels of the Ward Method. Dr. Brown has been privileged to study under the Gregorian chant specialists Father Robert Skeris, previously of Vatican City, and Scott Turkington. Dr. Brown has conducted community and children’s choirs and is an enthusiastic supporter of the Ward Method of musical instruction.

     “It is an outstanding method, even without chant. In my experience, I consider it to be superior and more effective than any other methodology. The beauty of this method is that it was originally conceived to help nuns with limited musical knowledge teach catholic school children. It is a great educational tool for any teacher who would like to bring a rich musical experience into the classroom!“

Course Description:

This class is for anyone interested in teaching music literacy or learning to read music and sing correctly. It is based on Justine Ward’s method of teaching music through games and challenges beginning in the youngest grades. This method based on Gregorian chant elements, was designed for the elementary Catholic classroom teacher without any prior musical background, but it is also appropriate for the secular music classroom teacher interested in teaching musical literacy and aesthetic instruction through singing, as well as adult choral instruction. This class covers elementary grade instruction through pitch matching strategies, whole body movement for rhythm and musical interpretation, and number notation for melody which becomes transcribed to standard staff notation through composition activities in the diatonic scale. Correct vocal production is taught through Intonation Exercises designed to perfect sight-reading skills. Analytical skills are emphasized through class participation of identifying correct pitch, timbre, rhythmic accuracy, and melodic and rhythmic dictation.

Course fee: $365 (early registration before May 4^th, 2013)

                    $430 (registration after May 4^th, 2013)

      (Includes the 45hr workshop and lunches served with tea/coffee.)

Registration:

       A non-refundable deposit of $200 is required by May 4^th, 2013 and sent to:

Ward Method Workshop

Attention: Jacquie O’Neil

Site 16, Box 16, RR1

Airdrie, AB

T4B 2A3.

Class size limited to 15 participants, please register early if you are interested. Email jacquie@fallprogroup.com for more information.