Thanks! & More Opportunities

Thank you all for your participation at Vespers; it went very well & all the WC? facilitators were extremely complimentary.

Fr. Christian had a couple of ideas of how we could contribute more to parish litugical life, both short-term & long-term:

Short-term - Assist with music at Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings during Lent. I need to find out more & get back to you all.

Longer-term - Assist with Vespers on an on-going basis. Father was thinking maybe at 5:30pm before Tuesday Confessions (which might be good if people are coming to the church anyway). I was thinking maybe Tuesdays & Thursdays at 5:30pm.

What we need is a fairly fixed routine that's easy to follow so that whoever can make it can sing, whether all or just one. I can be there almost everytime (except for traveling) since I am coming by the church at that time anyway.

Next practices - March 16, 23, & 30 @ 6:00p.m..

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BTW: For those interested, a link to the schedule for the June 13-19 Sacred Music Colloquium at Dusquesne University is posted on the right. more info at MusicaSacra.com. God bless.

Vespers - Feb 23

Fratres - We will sing at Vespers on Feb 23 at 6:00pm [corrected!], though we should meet at 5:30pm to run through the program. Should last no longer than 30 minutes.

If you search for "Magnificat chant" & "Ave Regina Caelorum" on YouTube, you can find some decent recordings of those, but beware that there is a simpler version of the Magnificat - we are singing the "solemn tone."

This is a great opportunity to apply our trade to its intended purpose - praising God in the liturgy! It also gets our group a little exposure, which can't hurt.

It is my hope that our group could sing Vespers at least once a month - maybe on 3rd Wednesdays - & also at the close of Eucharistic Exposition on 1st Wednesdays, but we have yet to arrange this with Father.

Also, I really enjoyed working on the Motets! They are going to sound great! Thanks!

. . .

P.S.: Photo of the Annunciation taken at the Nashville cathedral.

8 parts - 1 voice

When you go to the practice files for the Motets, you probably noticed that all the parts are sung by the same guy, Matthew Curtis. So, who is this guy?

Actually, I don't know, but he seems to be coming on strong on the Catholic music scene. I was actually a little critical of his "R"'s, but after hearing THIS I have no more criticisms!

He has started a little project of sacred music in both Latin or English from the great composers of that era - 1,500 to 1,600 - like Palestrina, Victoria, Byrd, & so many more. The project is called Choral Tracks.

All of these recordings are with Matthews voice alone! Perhaps we'll try some of this stuff some time.

Remember: Practice on Wed, Feb 16 at 6:00pm. God Bless.

Motecta Trium Vocum

Fratres - last night at Latin Mass choir practice, we sang the Domine Non Sum Dignus & Panis Angelicus from Allen's Motets for 3 Voices.

With only 4 voices (2 voices on part 1), we were able to sight-read through them passably, & by the third reading they were ready for singing at Mass. We will likely sing them after the Communion verse is sung, but they would be suitable for the Offertory, as well.

Just wanted to let you know that these pieces are beautiful, simple, & well within our reach. Just go to the link at right & practice!

God Bless!

[UPDATE!] The Latin Mass choir sang Domine Non Sum Dignus as a Communion hymn yesterday & it sounded great, even though we only had 5 voices, 2 of which had never seen this music before!

Can't wait till Next Practice - Wed, Feb 16 at 6:00pm.

New Plan

Here is the new schedule for practice:

3rd, 4th, & if occurant, 5th Wednesdays of each month at 6:00pm. Thus, our next practice is Wednesday, February 16.

We may need an occassional extra practice, but it is key that you use the online resources to keep things ticking along on the weeks we don't meet.

In Maiorem Gloriam Dei!