Day Seven - Colloquium 2011

I'm working on the files... but just had to post the Credo from the Byrd Mass for Four Voices. Dr. Horst Buchholz directed this polyphony choir for the Sunday Mass to end the week.


Credo

More files:


Introit
Kyrie, Byrd Mass for Four Voices

Day Five - Colloquium 2011

We ended our day with a very beautiful Vespers service in the extraordinary form. It was conducted by Dr. William Mahrt, featuring his polyphony choir with the assistance of the Master schola, made up of Wilko Brouwers, Aristotle Esguerra, David Hughes and Paul Weber. The Vespers recording is the entire hour-long service.

Vespers recording.

Also during the day, at the Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary (ordinary form), we enjoyed hearing Wilko Brouwers' polyphony choir sing the Missa Ave Maris Stella polyphonic Mass, by Josquin de Prez (1450-1521). I sang chant with the Intermediate Women's choir, and enjoyed singing the Offertory Ave Maria. Here are a few recordings from the day's Mass:


Introit
Kyrie
Gloria
Gradual
Alleluia
Offertory
Sanctus
Agnus
Communion
Ave Maria
Regina Caeli

It has been a wonderful week so far... with only two more days to go.

Day Four - Colloquium 2011

Another wonderful day in Pittsburgh! We had a slight bit of drizzle in the afternoon, which did tend to increase the effect of the heat in the church in the afternoon... but nothing to complain of, really.

Day four was a big day for singing for me. This year I was able to sing with Dr. Horst Buchholz' polyphony choir, and our polyphonic Mass setting, the Missa Brevis (Antonio Lotti 1665-1740), was great fun to sing under his direction. Also, I had the chance to sing with the Intermediate Women's chant choir under the direction of David Hughes. It was a pleasure to sing with him. He stresses a lot of the fundamentals of solfege and Solesmes style of singing the chant. It was very good to sing with him. I did record the entire Mass again, but am a bit behind on my editing from the original recording... later today I hope to have more recordings up.

Here are some of the music recordings:

Organ Prelude: Chorale-Preludes on Komm, Heiliger Geist, Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707), Jonathan Ryan, organist.
Introit Spiritus Domini
Kyrie Missa Brevis, Antonio Lotti (1667-1740)
Gloria Mass XII
Alleluia Emitte Spiritum tuum
Alleluia Veni Sancte Spiritus
Sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus
Offertory Confirma hoc
Offertory Motet: Dum complerentur, Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
Sanctus Missa Brevis 
Benedictus Missa Brevis
Agnus Dei  Missa Brevis
Communion Factus est repente
Communion Motet: Panis Angelicus (Claudio Casciolini - 1697-1760)

Day Three - Colloquium 2011

Day Three was another beautiful day in Pittsburgh. The weather has been absolutely wonderful this year, sunny and warm, but not oppressively hot.

After dinner this evening, Msgr. Wadsworth (ICEL) and Jeffrey Tucker gave a short presentation on the new Missal translation chants. Here is a photo of them in the middle of that...

Today we celebrated Mass at the Church of the Epiphany again, today a Requiem Mass for the deceased members of CMAA. Here are a few recordings:

Introit
Kyrie
Gradual
2nd Reading
Tract 
Dies Irae
Offertory Domine Jesu Christe
Offertory Motet "Thou knowest, Lord," Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Sanctus Mass XVIII
Agnus Dei Mass XVIII
Communion Lux aeterna
Communion Motet: Ave Christe, Josquin de Prez (1450-1521)


I have more still to cut from the original recording... I'll continue tomorrow. Morning prayer seems early when you stay up too late the night before!

Day Two - Colloquium 2011

Well... first off a photo of Dr. William Mahrt (President, CMAA) and Jeffrey Tucker (Editor, Sacred Music Journal) while they examine the first copies of the newly printed Simple English Propers. The book is listed on Amazon and is also being sold to Colloquium participants.

.. I only have had a few minutes' time, but I have some recordings from this afternoon's Mass that may be of interest... It was a wonderful Mass  (votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, celebrant). This Mass was novus ordo, said in English, with Latin ordinaries...

Here are the first few recordings I have ready to hear:

Introit
Kyrie
Alleluia 
Offertory Antiphon
Almighty and Everlasting God (Orlando Gibbons 1583-1625)
Sanctus
Communion antiphon
O Sacrum Convivium (Luca Marenzio 1556-1599)

More later!

Colloquium in Pittsburgh 2011

Well... people began arriving at the Power Center at Duquesne University for registration shortly before 2:00 pm yesterday afternoon. It was wonderful to see friends from previous years as well as meeting people who were attending for the first time. After all the planning over the past months, it was very nice to be able to put faces with names.

Dr. William Mahrt gave a welcoming address to the group, sharing thoughts on Sacred Music, the mission of the Church Music Association of America and a bit about the role of Sacred Music in the Catholic liturgy. 

Dr. Paul Weber (Assoc. Prof. of Music, Franciscan University of Steubenville) gave us a wonderful organ concert to kick off the music for the week, playing selections from Widor, Bach and Franck.

I look forward to getting started singing chant and polyphony today... Perhaps even a few recordings may make it onto my blog this week.

Fun stuff...

I've mentioned that I enjoy singing with a small women's ensemble in Macon... well, I recorded a few things at our rehearsal this evening and thought I'd share. Obviously, the recording quality is not professional... and it was a rehearsal, after all, but... we are singing some fun things.

We sang the Ave Maria chant as a beginning prayer... it is a bit different in the timing than I am used to, but the same melody...

Next came the Ave Verum by Faure. We'll be singing it for the Feast of Corpus Christi at St. Joseph's Parish in Macon.

As a prelude for the Feast of Corpus Christi, we'll be singing Laudamus te, by Vivaldi.


 

The Colloquium is Filling Up!

As we approach this year's Church Music Association of America's Colloquium (to be held in Pittsburgh's Duquesne University again), only a few more spots remain.

With selections from:

Marenzio (O Sacrum Convivum)

Ralph Vaughn Williams (Come Down O Love Divine) 

Purcell (Thou Knowest Lord) 

Josquin des Prez (Ave Christe and the Missa Ave maris Stella), Lotti (Missa Brevis) 

Victoria (Dum Complerentur) 

Peter Philips (O Quam Suavis)

di Lasso (Lauda anima mea) 

Byrd (Mass for Four Voices) 

Gallus (Factus est Repente)

Bruckner (Ave Maria)

and others, as well as various chanted Mass settings and propers, it promises to be a wealth of wonderful singing and listening experiences. When you add to it the wonderful organ selections to be played by Horst Buchholz, Jonathan Ryan, Ann Labounsky, and others, this year’s Colloquium music will be outstanding.

If you have been thinking of registering for the Colloquium this year and have been procrastinating, I urge you to make haste to do so now, before it is full.

Find information on registration, the schedule, the faculty and the music by visiting the CMAA website here.  

St. Cecilia Ensemble

This week's rehearsal of the St. Cecilia Ensemble (St. Joseph's Parish, Macon) was good fun. We are a small group, but seem to be getting a good ensemble sound with our singing. We will be singing at Mass at St. Joseph's on May 15 and June 5, so have  been practicing music in preparation for those dates.

Some of the music we'll be singing:

Adoramus te (Palestrina)
Ave Maria (Arcadelt)
Ave Verum (Faure)

If possible, I'll try to get a decent recording of some of our work next week at rehearsal. St. Joseph's has wonderful (and very forgiving) acoustics. It is a real treat to sing with this group.

Vatican II Hymnal

I've been following with great anticipation the news about Jeff Ostrowski's new hymnal.

For the first time ever, I have been using the OCP Breaking Bread book at the parish where I work now. It was already in place upon my arrival. While the book has a fairly large number of hymns in the back, and even some chants with English translations, I find the translations poor and the accompaniments not as good as those I've used in GIA publications in the past. I went through the music in the book and found that, out of the 900 or so selections, only about 150 or so would I consider using in the liturgy. So... Jeff's planned listing of about 160 hymns, with better text, nice arrangements for SATB choirs and Chabanel psalms sounds very good to me.

There have been several discussions about the layout, music choices, etc. on the MusicaSacra forum. Check it out here.

For all sorts of wonderful resources, check out the Corpus Christi Watershed sites.

Poor Clare Recordings - Roswell NM

Mid-January 2009, Poor Clare Monastery, Roswell, NM

The much-awaited recordings from morning Mass with the Poor Clares has been loaded to another server. Links:

Agnus Dei XVI
Agnus Dei X
Alleluia Haec est Vera
Communio Omnes Gentes
Fasciculus - Carol of the Drifting Snow
Introit
Introit Multae Tribulationes
Introit O Admirabile
Kyrie X
Kyrie XVI
Memorial Acclamation
Sanctus X
Sanctus XVI

Holy Saturday Vigil

Music Selections:

Procession... Christ Our Light (to be sung by the deacon... Hurray)
Exultet: Deacon to sing Missal version in English (Double Hurray)
Psalms: Respond and Acclaim selections
Gloria: Heritage Mass
Alleluia: Respond and Acclaim selection
Litany of Saints (chanted in English)
Sprinkling: I Saw Water Flowing (this was the only decent English version of the Vidi Aquam I could find in the Breaking Bread...)
Confirmation: Come, Holy Ghost
Offertory: Simple Proper antiphon
Communion: Now the Green Blade Rises
Recessional: Jesus Christ is Risen Today (Lyra Davidica)

Once again, my two boys will be serving at Mass... I love seeing those boys on the altar. We have six to be received into the Church this year...

Music for the Triduum

Holy Thursday

Entrance: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Washing of Feet: Ubi Caritas
Offertory: What Wondrous Love
Communion: One Bread, One Body (I know... not my favorite, but the parishioners love it)
Transfer of Eucharist: Pange Lingua (English) and Tantum Ergo (English)

My two boys will be altar servers at Mass and are looking forward to using the incense.

Good Friday

Veneration: Were You There (I wish we could have done the reproaches, but the parish is still not completely used to my Gregorian tendencies)
Stabat Mater (English)
Communion: Psalm 22
O Sacred Head Surrounded

We will (most assuredly) not be singing "Behold the Wood". I still get a chuckle whenever I realize how closely the verses match the tune of Gilligan's Island...

Palm Sunday in Georgia

Music selections this year:

All Glory, Laud and Honor
Hosanna Filio David (blessing of palms), in English
Simple Propers Offertory antiphon
O Sacrament Most Holy (Communion)
O Sacred Head Surrounded (Recessional)

The parish was unfamiliar with Hosanna Filio David... but I hope to establish this as one song that is used every year. I have the Latin version of it memorized, I like it so much.

Its melody sounds like something the people of Jerusalem would have sung, perhaps a well-known psalm sung at the synagogues.

Check out these wonderful compositions by Jeff Ostrowski for the new Missal translation:

New ICEL Translation of the Missal • Gloria ("Glory To God") from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

New ICEL Translation of the Missal • HOLY HOLY HOLY from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

To get more information about purchasing the music or downloading it for free use, visit the CCWatershed website.

Still Alive and Kicking...

I cannot believe it has been so long already. We are settled in here in Georgia and life progresses. Although I miss the schola in Ft. Worth, I've also been enjoying singing with a local women's polyphony group. We did very little over the holidays, so I look forward to singing with them for the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th.

Life has been full of different things here. We've been brewing beer and making wine and homeschooling the boys...

We're still alive and kicking.