Summer music and liturgy events

Still making plans for the summer? Here are some of the educational opportunities being offered in sacred music and liturgy:

  • The Sacred Music Colloquium of the Church Music Association of America: a six-day program including fully sung Masses in English, Latin, and Spanish, providing an experience of the liturgy with its full ceremonial and sacred music. Participants join choirs under expert instructors to learn and sing Gregorian chant and choral polyphony. This year the Colloquium Masses will be held at the cathedral in Philadelphia July 1-6, and the polyphony choirs will be directed by Timothy O’Donnell, Charles Cole, David Hughes, and MeeAe Cecilia Nam.
  • Chant courses sponsored by the Church Music Association of America: in the week preceding the Colloquium, two chant programs will be presented on the campus of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh: our “Chant Intensive” program under conductor Jeffrey Morse, and the first level of the “Laus in Ecclesia” cantor training program under Br. Mark Bachmann OSB of Clear Creek Abbey. Graduate credit is available for both programs through Duquesne.
  • Michael Alan Anderson is directing a week-long workshop on chant and polyphony presented by Eastman School of Music, to be held in New York City June 10-14.
  • Janet Coxwell, David Woodcock, and Andrew Carwood will be directing the Early Music Academy Boston program July 27-Aug 2, to be held at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., studying works of Palestrina, Clemens, and Guerrero.
  • Patrick Torsell will direct a chant camp for children and youth 7-18 years of age in Harrisburg, PA, June 24-28; a video on-line has more information.
  • St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York will offer graduate-level courses in sacred music this summer, on site and on-line; the on-line classes start June 3, and on-site programs start July 22: descriptions are available on the Musica Sacra Forum.
  • A retreat for church musicians will be offered August 16-20 in Sleepy Eve, MN: a description of the program with liturgies offered according to the Usus Antiquior of the Roman rite is offered in this PDF file, and registration information is at the event’s Facebook page.
  • Schola Cantus Angelorum is presenting its seventh summer liturgy conference in Spokane May 28-31 on the campus of Gonzaga University. Speakers include Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Bishop Thomas Daly, Bishop Robert Vasa, Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, Nathan Schmiedicke, Msgr. Richard Huneger, Canon Lawyer Magdalen Ross, Rev. Theodore Lange, Rev. Gabriel Mosher OP, Douglas Schneider, Alex Begin and Enzo Selvaggi. More information is at https://sacredliturgyconference.org/
  • The Monastère Saint-Benoît of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon is presenting the sixth annual Sacra Liturgia Summer School, in English, at La Garde-Freinet in France, August 3-16.
  • Composer-conductor Paul Jernberg is presenting a Sacred Music Workshop for clergy, musicians, and laity June 24-29 on the beautiful campus of Northeast Catholic College in Warner, New Hampshire. (unfortunately cancelled)
  • St. Vitus Parish (FSSP) in Los Angeles is presenting its Sacred Music Symposium June 24-28 under the direction of Jeffrey Ostrowski.
  • Daniel Saulnier, former director of the paleography workshop at Solesmes, is presenting an introductory workshop on Gregorian chant August 6-9 as part of the Choralies festival at Vaison-la-Romaine.
  • The Gregorian Institute of Canada will present its summer conference August 8-11 at the Abbey of St.-Benoit-du-Lac in Quebec, with musicologist Juan Carlos Asensio Palacios presenting on Hispanic (“Mozarabic”) plainchant.

Colloquium 2016 recordings starting to come on-line

Thanks to CMAA member Carl Dierschow, a web site with live recordings from the Sacred Music Colloquium 2016 events is starting to be filled in, at
http://music.dierschow.com/2016Colloquium/index.htm .

So far the page has:

  • Monday, June 20: concert by the early music ensemble Pro Arte Saint Louis
  • Saturday, June 25: Mass at the Shrine of St. Joseph
    The Mass ordinary was the Mozart Missa Brevis (the “Sparrow Mass”) for choir and orchestra.

    “Therefore now and for ages unending, with all the Angels, we proclaim your glory…..”

    Reading “It’s Time for a Nobel Prize for Mothers….” via Facebook and wondered, is there a Facebook button for lovelovelovelovelove?
    And this goes for Fathers as well.

    Which then set me to thinking, one of the aspects of the CMAA Colloquium closest to my heart, an aspect which I lovelovelovelovelove, is that in the offering of worship to the Trinity mystically occurring in the company of the angels and saints, it is when this is accomplished with, and accompanied by great music, devoutly sung that I sense most strongly and surely the proximity of my late parents, and not only of them, of my beloved parents, but of all who have gone before us in Faith.
    I feel such unity, feel something so beautifully, profoundly to be true that I cannot even speak of it, my voice fails me, I can only think it or type it.
    Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus!

    Millions, billions, TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS of voices….
    And year after year at the Colloquium I have these experiences.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you!
    Thank you, CMAA members, Cecilia, Anne, Dr Mahrt, Janet, Wilko, Scott, Jonathan, Kathy R, Kathy P, Bishop Conley, that soprano who stood next to me, you mosaic artists from decades ago, Episcopal Cathedral of St Louis, David, ChantCafe contributors, Eric at the desk, you people who kept the organization going during the lean years, Arlene and Msgr. Wadsworth and everyone else from other years WHOIREALLYMISS, Fr Keyes, I’mrunningoutofbandwidth….

    Colloquium Day 6: Ite ad Joseph

    The message above the altar was plain enough:

    and so the faithful did “go to Joseph”, returning to his shrine in St. Louis for the final Mass of CMAA’s 26th Sacred Music Colloquium.

    The Holy Mass was celebrated according to the 1962 Missal, for the feast (3rd cl.) of St. William, abbot

    Organist: Jonathan Ryan
    Mass ordinary: “Sparrow” Mass, Mozart (with orchestra)

    Introit: Os justi (women’s schola, Cole)
    Kyrie: Sparrow Mass (Mozart choir, Buchholz)
    Gloria: Sparrow Mass (Mozart choir, Buchholz)
    Gradual: Domine, prævenisti (men’s schola, Brouwers)
    Alleluia: Justus ut palma (chant improvisation, Mahrt)
    Offertory: Desiderium animæ (women’s faculty master choir, Carr-Wilson)
    Offertory motet: O bone Jesu, Ingegneri (beginning polyphony, Hughes)
    Sanctus: Sparrow Mass (Mozart choir, Buchholz)
    Agnus Dei: Sparrow Mass (Mozart choir, Buchholz)
    Communion: Fidelis servus (fundamentals, Ryan)
    Communion motet: O sacrum convivium, La Rocca (motet choir, Cole)

    A moment from the homily by our chaplain, Rev. Robert Pasley, KCHS.
    (Photo credits: Rene Zajner)

    As is our custom at the final Mass, the full complement of attendees joined in a motet under the direction of Dr. Buchholz: this time, the Ave Maria of Bruckner.

    We’ll look forward to hearing some recordings and seeing additional photos from the Colloquium Masses and presentations over the next few days as they become available on the net.  I’ll post links here on Chant Café.

    Next year the 27th Sacred Music Colloquium will be held in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the University of St. Thomas, June 19-24.

    Colloquium Day 5: Mass at the Cathedral

    The Sacred Music Colloquium ended Saturday morning with a Mass at the Shrine of St. Joseph, but we have a few more items to share from Friday.

    That afternoon, Bishop Conley of Lincoln joined the Colloquium attendees at the magnificent Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis for Holy Mass, on the solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

    The bishop and concelebrants exchange the Pax.
    (Photo credits: Rene Zajner)

    Thanks to the Cathedral’s media apostolate, you can view archived video of the Mass at YouTube.  (Alas, the video resolution doesn’t do justice to the glorious interior of the Cathedral Basilica.)

    After the Mass, the clergy and laymen who served Mass during the week came together for a photograph:

    After a break for dinner, attendees returned to the Cathedral for an organ recital by Ben Blasingame:

    A beautiful day!

    Reminder: live video stream of Mass from the Cathedral in St. Louis

    [UPDATE: The archived video is available at YouTube.]

    A scheduling note: the Colloquium’s Mass from the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis will be streamed live on the internet, thanks to the Archdiocese of Saint Louis.  The Mass begins at 5:30 p.m. Central Time (6:30 p.m. Eastern), and the stream will be available at http://archstl.org/CMAA .

    The music program for the liturgy follows, with the various choirs of colloquium participants indicated. The music repertoire book is available for download at the CMAA web site.

    Friday, June 24, 5:30 p.m. (Central), Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
    Mass, ordinary form, Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

    Bishop James D. Conley (Lincoln, Nebraska), celebrant

    Bishop Conley, at the plenary address
    he gave Friday morning.

    Horst Buchholz, organist

    Organ prelude: Fantasia sopra Ut queant laxis, Johann Jakob Froberger
    Introit: De ventre matris (women’s refresher chant class, Mary Ann Carr-Wilson)
    Kyrie: Missa Papæ Marcelli, Palestrina (Wilko Brouwers conducting)
    Gloria: Missa Papæ Marcelli
    Gradual: Priusquam te (chant improvisation class, William Mahrt)
    Alleluia: Tu puer (women’s chant schola, Charles Cole)
    Credo III (tutti) with Et incarnatus est from Missa Papæ Marcelli
    Offertory: Justus ut palma (men’s faculty master choir, David Hughes)
    Offertory motet: Iustorum animæ, Stanford (motet choir, Charles Cole)
    Sanctus: Missa Papæ Marcelli
    Memorial acclamation: Mortem tuam (tutti)
    Pater noster (tutti)
    Agnus Dei: Missa Papæ Marcelli
    Communion: Tu puer (chant fundamentals class, Jonathan Ryan)
    Communion motet: Iesu dulcis memoria, Victoria (motet choir, Charles Cole)
    Organ postlude: Improvisation on Ut queant laxis

    Colloquium Day 4: Requiem


    The Sacred Music Colloquium continued Thursday with rehearsals, breakout sessions, and an annual favorite, a sight-reading session for new compositions, led by the genial David Hughes.

    Participants returned to the Shrine of St. Joseph for the annual Requiem Mass offered for the repose of departed members of the CMAA. For many Colloquium participants, it was the first time they had an opportunity to experience this rite of the Church in its classic form, with the chants of the Mass for the Dead and traditional practices such as the singing of the sequence Dies irae and the use of a catafalque to represent the departed for whom the Mass is offered.  Here are the assembled participants after the Mass.