Great to see so many people at this wonderful chant conference. Here is one blogger who looked forward to it. All things are going well. I hope to have time to blog more about it.
Dom Saulnier goes Open Source
Dom Daniel Saulnier, current director of paleography at Solesmes Abbey and successor of Dom Mocquereau and Dom Cardine has placed his course materials for the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music online, in the common domain for all.
Granted, most of this is in Italian, but I find it striking that Saulnier has chosen Google Sites and Google Docs as the means of sharing some of his material in the commons. When first visiting the site a “translate” box in the lower right hand corner immediately pops up for the user. Perhaps not offering a scholarly translation, but it can certainly be helpful in getting a general understanding of the material for those who do not read Italian.
Just briefly browsing his dispensae has been fascinating. There are some very interesting studies here of cantillation, of word accent, of timbre.
I look forward to exploring these resources more. What a gift that he has shared these resources freely for all to benefit from–we don’t even have to wait 70 years after he is dead to freely access his knowledge and wisdom!
Simple Propers for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Download Simple Propers for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time
The “beta” phase for the Chant Café “Simple Propers” project continues. The layout is a bit different this week than it was before, with the formulaic setting first, followed by psalm verses and with the Meinrad Tone setting placed at the end. The layout seems to be clearer and positions the “Simple Setting” as a possible alternative if the first setting cannot be sung.
We also will now be arranging propers by liturgy irrespective of the calendar year–All options and A, B, and C will be laid out together as it is in the Gregorian Missal, the point of reference for this project.
Thank you to everyone who has offered feedback as this project has developed. If you are using these proper settings in liturgy please do provide feedback during this “beta” stage. By the looks of it we should have a complete resource ready for print many months before Advent 2011!
Extraordinary Form Missa Cantata, National Shrine, CMAA Chant Pilgrimage, 2009
A marvelous video, and thanks to Watershed for the uploading and hosting. David Lang is the organist, Scott Turkington is the schola director, Arlene Oost-Zinner is the organizer, and many others were involved to make this a wonderful and historic occasion. Here you will see the workings of an all-chanted Mass, with the people on the ordinary chants and sections on the propers. You will hear the Gloria sung in alternation between high and low voices. The polyphony is provided by the Shrine schola under the direction of Peter Latona. Thank you to John Schultz for the video. I’m sure there are many details to add here. In any case, it is fantastic presentation, very beautiful and nicely done in every way.
Pope Benedict XVI on Mozart
It is so wonderful that we have a Pope who loves music and speak about its spiritual properties with such eloquence.
From a translation by Zenit, Sept 10, 2010:
We know well that Mozart, in his trips around Italy with his father when he was young, stayed in several regions, among which were, also, Piedmont and Veneto, but above all we know that he was able to learn from the lively Italian musical activity, characterized by composers such as Hasse, Sammartini, Father Martini, Piccinni, Jommelli, Paisiello, Cimarosa, to mention some of them.
Allow me, however, to express once again the particular affection that has united me, I could say, always, to this great musician. Every time I listen to his music I cannot help but return in memory to my parish church, where on feast days, when I was a boy, one of his “Masses” resounded: I felt that a ray of beauty from heaven reached my heart, and I continue to experience this sensation also today every time I listen to this great, dramatic and serene meditation on death.
Everything is in perfect harmony in Mozart, every note, every musical phrase is as it is and could not be otherwise; even those opposed are reconciled; it is called “mozart’sche Heiterkeit” (Mozart’s serenity), which envelops everything, every moment. It is a gift of the Grace of God, but it is also the fruit of Mozart’s lively faith that, especially in sacred music, is able to reflect the luminous response of divine love, which gives hope, even when human life is lacerated by suffering and death.
In his last letter written to his dying father, dated April 4, 1787, he wrote, speaking precisely of the final stage of life on earth: “For about a year I have become so familiar with this sincere and greatly loved friend of man, [death], that its image no longer holds anything that is terrifying, but it even seems to me tranquilizing and consoling! And I thank my God for having given me the good fortune of having the opportunity of recognizing in it the key to our happiness. I never lie down without thinking that perhaps the next day I might not be. And yet anyone who knows me will not be able to say that in their company I am sad or in a bad mood. And for this good fortune I thank my Creator every day and I desire it with all my heart for each one of my fellow men.”
This writing manifests a profound and simple faith, which also appears in the great prayer of the Requiem, and leads us at the same time to love intensely the ups and downs of earthly life as gifts of God and to rise above them, contemplating death serenely as a “key” to go through the door to happiness.
Mozart’s Requiem is a lofty expression of faith, which recognizes the tragic character of human existence and which does not hide its dramatic aspects, and for this reason it is an appropriate expression of Christian faith, conscious that the whole of man’s life is illuminated by the love of God.
Fr. Weber’s Compline Book – Now Available
This volume contains the Office of Compline (night prayer) for every day of the year, in Latin and English, according to the novus ordo of the Roman Catholic Church, with Gregorian Chant settings. On the facing pages for the Latin, the official English text is also arranged for chanting, using simple English tones. New translations have been made for the official hymns of the Office, and all the hymns are given with the Gregorian melodies proper for each season and feast of the liturgical year.
This book will find a welcome in parishes, cathedrals, religious communities and seminaries, as well as families, all who wish to pray together at the end of the day.
Complete instructions are given for praying Compline. The Foreword by Archbishop Raymond Burke explains the rich spiritual tradition of prayer at the close of day, and provides an inspiring meditation on the texts and meaning of the Office of Compline.
The scriptures give only one command concerning the frequency of prayer: pray without ceasing (Lk 18:1; 1 Thess 5:17). This volume will prove to be a welcome companion to all who are seeking to make a full response to the Gospel, and persevere in unceasing prayer.
The Strongest Argument for Sacred Music
I am deeply indebted to Dr. Denis McNamara for revealing to me the strongest argument in support of sacred music that I have ever heard:
“Beauty is the attractive power of the Truth.”
Dr. McNamara uses this axiom to help us understand why we need beautiful sacred architecture and sacred art–because it attracts us, it compels us toward the Truth. The same can be said for sacred music. Beautiful and sacred music attracts us to the Truth, namely to Jesus Christ. This, I think, is what our parishes are longing for. This is what our world is longing for. It is what we all are longing for. Ugliness is a manifestation of the Fall. Beauty will save the world.
A short excerpt from the beginning of Chapter 2 in McNamara’s Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy:
Articulated by great minds like Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Church has called Beauty the “splendor of the Truth,” or at times, the attractive power of the Truth. Theologically speaking, Beauty is more than an accidental byproduct of artistic production or a social construct that rests in the eye of the beholder. Beauty has a power. For confirmation, ask a man who saw his future wife for the first time across a room and found himself inextricably drawn toward her. Ask a tourist who packs heavy luggage and carries it through difficult airport security, then with considerable language difficulty and inordinate expense stays in a hotel just to have a chance to visit the Sistine Chapel or the Mona Lisa. Ask a choir full of singers why the hours of rehearsal were worth it for twenty minutes of flawless polyphony. Ask a gardener who does all the work necessary to produce perfect roses. The power of Beauty enthused them for work; even just the uncertain hope for Beauty enthused them for this work. So it is with liturgical prayer and the art and architecture that serve it.