Chant Café

This is a very good posting about the role of music in the new Missal. As we know, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fundamentally change Catholic music. This could be the beginning of something amazing, a time for the restoration of beauty and solemnity. The preparations have long been made by such organizations as the Church Music Association of America (have you joined and do you financially support this crucial organization?).

This is a very interesting video lecture. It is oddly sad that to have the very beautiful but still common Requiem introit presented as some ancient and unheard medieval artifact.

A comment on this post on the offertory antiphon asked about the verses. I’m happy to report that we have a book of verses online and in print – the original Gregorian ones – plus a simplified version by Rice.

Here is the verse attached to Sunday’s antiphon. Amazing isn’t it?

Fr. Samuel Weber has provided the Cafe some beautiful chants for Ash Wednesday.

An outstanding singer from Lionheart is pushing a chant workshop by drawing attention to its contemplative features. There’s a point here:

Chanting is a key element in the contemplative practices of many religious traditions. When chanting or listening to ancient chant, we can experience the wisdom and beauty that has nurtured countless souls and withstood the passing fashions of history.

A primary attribute of Gregorian chant, which was popularized in the Middle Ages but has Hebraic and Mediterranean roots, is its provocative, instructive texts. After meditating on such texts and completing their duties, medieval monks would convene around fires in the monastery’s warming house for comfort and the hospitality of community.

In this workshop led by Jeffrey Johnson, we create a warming house of our own, exploring Gregorian chant through meditation, reflection, discussion, singing in Latin and English, and ritual. We receive instruction to connect our body and voice, and sing chants by Hildegarde von Bingen, chants influenced by John Cassian, psalms, and new chants composed in the Gregorian style.

All are welcome to attend. No previous musical experience or specific religious background is required.

Jeffrey Johnson is an acclaimed Gregorian chant practitioner, educator, voice instructor, and theater artist. A founding member of the celebrated vocal ensemble Lionheart, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and on Broadway.

September 9 – 11, 2011
Rhinebeck, New York
Tuition: $295
Member Tuition: $270

All four are certainly worth having right away. Richard Rice has been a key contributor in moving us away from the world of lame Psalms to solemn, dignified, and liturgy-worth settings for the ordinary form. These collections cover years A,B, and C plus solemnities.

The Offertory chant is probably the most neglected proper in the ordinary form of the Mass. The overwhelming habit here is to just sing some random hymn or listen to some piece that the pianist or small choir has worked up. Most Catholics are shocked to learn that there is a specific chant and text assigned to his procession as part of the liturgical structure of the Roman Rite.

The offertory text for the 9th Sunday in Ordinary time is Sperent in te. Here are some options.

The Anglican Use Gradual which is also in print:

The Simple English Propers

The Simple Choral Gradual by Richard Rice:

The Palmer-Burgess Gradual which is also in print.

And finally the normative option, the Gregorian from the Roman Gradual or Gregorian Missal, and an MP3 of the same.