Chant Café

Readers may be interested in an interview I gave yesterday for the BBC to promote a forthcoming workshop in Lancaster Cathedral. Forgive the inaccurate introduction – much as I would like to be Dr Gale, I am afraid I am plain old Mr!

Andrew Wright, Director of Music for the Cathedral and Diocese of Brentwood in the UK, leads the way in restoring Gregorian Chant to its rightful place in the Liturgy.

Until more recent times, Chant featured rarely in the liturgies of Brentwood Cathedral. Typical examples of its use would be the better-known Chant settings of the Ordinary, and the occasions for performance would principally have been the Sunday Choral Mass for the Cathedral/Parish. However, some Chant would be used for diocesan liturgies like the Mass of Chrism. Other examples of the occasional use of Chant would be Credo III, Pater Noster, Victimae Paschali, Veni Sancte and hymns such as the Veni Creator. Some Chant was also used for monthly Sunday Vespers, e.g Psalm 109 – either on its own or in conjunction with polyphony – and the occasional vespers hymn. In terms of the overall scheme of music at the Cathedral, the chant maintained some kind of balance with other forms of music but its role was fairly minimal.

Over the past four years, however, Andrew Wright, Brentwood Cathedral and Diocese’s illustrious Director of Music, has instigated a dramatic increase in the amount and frequency of Chant used at Cathedral liturgies. At the Sunday 11.30 Choral Mass he has extended the Chant to include an Introit, the Communion Antiphon is used every Sunday (at the start of Communion, followed by a motet), and the number of Chant Masses in regular use has been extended (for the Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei). Current plans include the introduction of Gloria XV and the proper Alleluia. The role of the Chant at Vespers has also been dramatically increased and the Psalms and Antiphons are now regularly chanted in Latin to the proper tones.

Andrew claims that the ability of the Cathedral Choir to perform the chant better has been a factor for its increase. He is also aware of a desire to help restore this most fundamental liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church. “The congregation here is used to a great variety of music and I believe their listening experience has help lead to a greater appreciation of chant. We have also successfully demonstrated that repeating the chant, for example the Sanctus or Gloria VIII regularly on Sundays, gradually builds up the congregational singing and appreciation. The music of course stands much repetition and it’s very sound and construction is a product of its regular prayerful purpose. It is also music which is dispassionate and unifying and therefore good for the liturgy.”

He continues “people are increasingly conscious of the need for greater beauty and the numinous in much of our liturgical music, not least in terms of prayerfulness and deeper spirituality etc. People are more aware today of Chant in terms of art, its history and role and that it must not be lost from the liturgy. Having experienced any other forms of music people can evaluate this today better and more sensibly. However, it is important that any efforts to re-introduce chant are done sensitively and pastorally as not to do so can be counter-productive and have the opposite effect.”

“It is important to help people understand that the continued use of the traditional music of the church can find a home within the present day liturgy very successfully. Perhaps this would be true of most venues although in other venues the need and capacity to use much larger amount of chant can and does work depending on the liturgy and ritual employed. In more general venues it helps to introduce Chant with/through young choristers singing.”

Andrew has met with a very favourable response to the reintroduction of Chant in the Cathedral and a good number of the faithful have commented in particular about its beauty and prayerfulness. I have been privileged to conduct two workshops for Andrew at Brentwood Cathedral, the first for the Cathedral Choir, the second for the Diocese, and on both occasions I was struck by the wonderful welcome I received, and by the receptiveness of the people who, without exception, have open minds and hearts, and a hunger for prayerful music, the beauty of the Chant and the Sacred Liturgy. I am looking forward to my third visit to the Diocese in the Autumn for a Chant Workshop in conjunction with the local Anglican diocese, with which Brentwood enjoys particularly close ecumenical ties. I feel very honoured to have been asked again by Andrew to participate in some small way in the wonderful work he does in the Cathedral and throughout his diocese, of which he is also the Director of Music.

Andrew speaks of an awareness of what has been lost, musically, from the tradition of the Church, but also an awareness that the Holy Father has been encouraging us to look again and value our intrinsic musical heritage, and there is a real and increasing willingness to support this concern and contribute to its well-being. I know from my visits to this beautiful Cathedral Church, and from my many conversations with Andrew, that the Chant has once more found a home in the liturgy at Brentwood Cathedral, and that its use will continue to grow and flourish there under the inspired leadership of their wonderfully talented, forward-looking and inspirational Director of Music, for whom I have the utmost respect and admiration.

Please pray for Andrew Wright, for his hugely-supportive new Cathedral Dean, Fr Martin Boland, and his equally supportive and visionary Ordinary, Bishop Thomas, who has done so much to promote and encourage music in Brentwood. Please pray too for the Choir and people of the Cathedral and for the Diocese as they continue, under Andrew’s leadership and direction, in their wonderful work of restoring the Chant and lifting the hearts and minds of the faithful to God through music.

Qui bene cantat bis orat!

I thought readers may be interested in a series on the Roman Catholic Cathedrals of the UK and their musical provision. I wrote an article recently on the Choral Outreach Programme at Leeds Cathedral which seemed to interest readers on NLM, so I will follow this up with a profile of each UK Catholic Cathedral, beginning with my own, St George’s Cathedral, Southwark.

The Cathedral seen from the Imperial War Museum

St George’s is the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Southwark, which covers the actual Diocese of Southwark (South London, North Surrey, and Kent), and also the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth, and Plymouth.

The Cathedral occupies an historic site close to the Imperial War Museum, a few minutes walk from London‘s South Bank and the Thames, Westminster Bridge, the London Eye, and landmarks such as St Thomas‘ Hospital and Waterloo Station. It serves a lively and cosmopolitan community from all over London, and has a strong parish identity in addition to its role as a Cathedral. For example, the vibrant Latin American community is served with a Spanish Mass every Sunday at 1pm, delivered completely in the Spanish language. On top of this, every Mass is attended by people of different ethnicities and ages, ranging from African to Asian to European. The Cathedral is proud to be a religious home to all these people.

The Cathedral nave

The Cathedral’s Music Department was founded in 1848 with a choir of boys and men, thus making it the oldest RC Cathedral Choir in the UK. This Choir still sings the weekly Solemn Mass on Sunday morning, as well as occasional extra services such as Christmas and Holy Week. In addition there is a new Cathedral Girls’ Choir which sings the weekly Family Mass on Sunday mornings. The Cathedral has a Director of Music (Nick Gale), who is also responsible for training the Boys’ Choir, an Organist (Nicholas O’Neill) and an Assistant Organist (Norman Harper), who is responsible for training the Girls’ Choir.

The Cathedral Boys’ Choir is made up of 18 boy choristers, 6 choral scholars and 9 lay-clerks and sings a repertoire ranging from polyphonic settings by composers like Tallis, Byrd and Palestrina through to works by modern composers such as James MacMillan, Arvo Pärt and Judith Bingham, to name but a few. We are also fortunate to have an in-house composer – Nicholas O’Neill – who has composed 3 Masses and numerous motets for us. Gregorian Chant plays a major role in the Solemn Mass – all propers are sung in full, and the people also sing a Chant Gloria, Credo and Marian Antiphon.

When I took over as Cathedral DoM ten years ago things had reached a point of stagnation. There were four choristers left, no lay-clerks or choral scholars, and the diet of music on Sunday mornings was largely hymns and simple congregational Mass settings. Thanks to supremely supportive clergy and a newly-assembled team of dedicated, enthusiastic, professional musicians, we have managed to restore our great musical heritage and return the Chant to its rightful place in the Liturgy.

The Cathedral Choristers receiving Holy Communion

Now, thanks to the wonderful team of musicians and clergy, a typical Sunday Solemn Mass involves the Introit, a congregational hymn to accompany the long procession down the vast nave, a choral setting of the Kyrie followed by a Chant Gloria. The Psalm is sung in the vernacular in directum (no response) by choir and congregation alternatum, followed by the proper Alleluia with verse. A Chant Credo follows the homily and, after a congregational hymn, the Chant Offertory precedes a choral Sanctus and Agnus Dei. The Communio is sung with psalm verses in Latin (from the CMAA’s wonderful Communio books) followed by a motet. After the blessing the seasonal Antiphon to Our Lady is sung, usually to Chant or, occasionally, to a polyphonic setting, such as Robert White’s wonderful 6-part Regina Caeli. The organ then leads us out of the Cathedral.

At the Family Mass the Girls’ Choir leads a more congregational-style liturgy, with an English Language Mass Setting (John Bertalot, David Thorne and one composed especially for the Girls by our in-house composer Nicholas O’Neill) and vernacular hymnody, with a sparing use of Taizé-style chants. However, they lead the Mass extremely effectively and regularly sing parts of the Mass to the Chant. They have been a blessing and a real asset to the Cathedral community.

As I mentioned earlier in this article, the Cathedral has been blessed with a wonderfully supportive Dean (Canon James Cronin), who has been so helpful and kind over the past 10 years, and a series of Archbishops (most recently ++Michael Bowen and ++ Kevin McDonald) all of whom have encouraged the choirs both spiritually, morally and financially, and it is due to this support that we are able to continue doing the work that we do.

Canon James Cronin (left) and Nick Gale (right)

The Cathedral Boys’ Choir tours every other year – recent destinations include Cologne and Rome – and has broadcast live twice on BBC Radio 4 and once on BBC 1 Television in recent years. The Cathedral also played host to Pope John Paul II on his visit to the UK in 1982. Particularly noteworthy is the recently-dedicated shrine to St Francesca ‘Mother’ Cabrini, a former worshipper in the Cathedral Parish before her emigration to the USA. The Cathedral Choir recently sang for the blessing of this beautiful new shrine.

Archbishop Peter Smith

The original Cathedral Organ (Willis) was destroyed by the bombing during the War. It was replaced by an extension organ by John Compton, an inadequate solution and one that is now in need of serious attention, ideally replacement. However, the Cathedral has recently had to spend an enormous amount repairing its roof, replacing the obsolete and dangerous electrics and rebuilding the condemned Archbishop Amigo Hall, which now looks resplendent outside the West End of the Cathedral. The Cathedral is a poor parish, and the people have already dug deeply and given generously and, at present, funds do not allow us to do anything about the organ situation, which detracts from the otherwise wonderful music-making that takes place in this noble, historic and prayerful building in South London.

Please pray for Archbishop Peter, Canon James and the Choirs of St George’s Cathedral for their continued work.