The Chant Café

CMAA Houston, sponsor of the Winter Chant Intensive, coming up on January 4-6, 2012, has been besieged with scholarship requests. At present five or six gifts of $50 or $100 would assist in getting people the education in chant they are looking for - not only for themselves, but for their parishes, and the future of sacred music in this country.

If you are in the position to help, please consider making a donation - in time for someone to benefit from your gift this coming January. Write to CMAA Houston for specifics on how to go about making a difference.

Here is a quick list of ten great things about the Vatican II Hymnal. In no particular order:

Contains the Order of Mass for both the EF and OF.

Contains all the readings for ALL THREE YEARS in the OF. No need for Missalettes.

Is over 700 pages long but is still the size of a normal book.

Includes numerous settings of Alleluias and Gospel Acclamations.

Includes the text of the sequences in Latin AND English.

Includes solid, singable hymns.

For each hymn the editor has included a suggested occasion for deployment.

Includes Offertory verses! Yes, they exist!

Includes the ICEL setting of the new translation of the Mass; and further settings by Rice, Weber,and more.

Includes great graphics that you could copy (I think photocopying one page for personal use is allowed) and give to your children with a pack of colored pencils (after Mass).

St. Benedict Church in Richmond, Virginia, will be sponsoring The Gregorian Chant and More Workshop on Nov.11-12, 2011.

The workshop will feature Fr. Robert A. Skeris, Director, Centre for Ward Method Studies at The Catholic University of America. Sessions will alternate singing Gregorian Chant with lectures on Sacred Music. All are welcome, from novices to experienced singers. The workshop will conclude with a Missa Cantata. All sessions will be held in Saint Anselm Hall at St. Benedict Parochial School. The workshop is free for St. Benedict Church members, however you must register. Registration includes lunch on Saturday as well as a copy of the Liber Cantualis, the book used for the workshop. For non-St. Benedict Church members, the fee is a modest $5 to cover lunch expenses. The Liber Cantualis will be available for purchase at the workshop. To register, or for more information, please email your contact information to jdorn@saintbenedictparish.org or ccrafton@saintbenedictschool.org. You may also mail your contact information and payment to St. Benedict Church Office, attn: Chant Workshop 206 North Belmont Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23221.

More information here.

For reasons unknown to me I found myself reading the Wikipedia article on Huldrych Zwingli (Swiss Reformer). Maybe it was because conversation over brunch today centered on my son's freshman history class and his professor's well balanced look at the influences and events of the time. Might also be because I was in Zurich three weeks ago, where all things "church" are all Zwingli, all the time.

Cut to the chase: I about fell off my chair when I read the paragraph on Zwingli's view toward liturgical music, below. As Willa Cather said, "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before."

Zwingli criticised the practice of priestly chanting and monastic choirs. The criticism dates from 1523 when he attacked certain worship practices. He associated music with images and vestments, all of which he felt diverted people’s attention from true spiritual worship. It is not known what he thought of the musical practices in early Lutheran churches. Zwingli, however eliminated music from worship in the church, stating that God had not commanded musical worship. The organist of the People's Church in Zurich is recorded as weeping upon seeing the great organ broken up. Although Zwingli did not express an opinion on congregational singing, he made no effort to encourage it. Nevertheless, scholars have found that Zwingli was supportive of a role for music in the church. Gottfried W. Locher writes, "The old assertion 'Zwingli was against church singing' holds good no longer.... Zwingli's polemic is concerned exclusively with the medieval Latin choral and priestly chanting and not with the hymns of evangelical congregations or choirs". Locher goes on to say that "Zwingli freely allowed vernacular psalm or choral singing. In addition, he even seems to have striven for lively, antiphonal, unison recitative". Locher then summaries his comments on Zwingli's view of church music as follows: "The chief thought in his conception of worship was always 'conscious attendance and understanding' — 'devotion', yet with the lively participation of all concerned".

Gregorian Chant Workshop in Southern California with Kathy Reinheimer

Saturday, October 8, 8:30am-5:00pm

Sponsored by Una Voce, Los Angeles


St. Victor's Catholic Church
8634 Holloway Drive,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310)652-6477

$25 fee includes Parish Book of Chant, all materials, lunch, and refreshments.

Please see the workshop webpage for schedule and registration details.

Large, suburban parish in Cincinnati, OH seeking full time organist/choir director.
Position open immediately. Parish transitioning to more traditional liturgy so candidate
must have knowledge of and love for chant and sacred polyphony as well as traditional
hymnody. A sense of solemnity and beauty is desired in seeking a balanced
mix of old and new that is in keeping with the teachings of Benedict XVI.
Responsible for weekly choir rehearsal, Saturday vigil Mass and three Sunday
Masses, feast days, weddings, occasional funerals and liturgical events such as
40 hours devotion.

Interested parties should email their resume, letter of interest, and salary
expectations to businessmanager@stgertrude.org