Press Release and Special Offer!

Watts & Co. is proud to have supplied choir wear for cathedrals worldwide, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York (above).

Watts and Co. Special Offer!

Watts and Co., founded in 1874 has offered a special savings to readers on ChantCafe.com that we want to pass along. They have been long-time advertisers on the NewLiturgicalMovement.org website, supporting our work for many years.

Use discount code CCWATTS to receive an 8% discount on all their choir products. Just visit their website at wattsandco.com.

A little about Watts and Co.:

Traditional hand embroidery remains a key part of Watts & Co.’s offering.

Founded in 1874, Watts & Co. has grown from a small firm of Gothic Revival architects to the purveyor of the finest vestments, choir wear, fabrics, and furnishings to churches worldwide.

Heir to his fifth-generation family business, Robert Hoare, took on the prestigious mantle and continues to guide its growth into the 21st century.

Robert’s ancestor, Sir Gilbert Scott Jr, one of the founders of Watts, converted to Catholicism through his encounter with St John Henry Newman. Since then, Watts has seen its relationship with the Church blossom, supplying priests, parishes, choirs and religious communities worldwide with unique vestments, choir wear and liturgical fabrics of timeless beauty.

‘People who come to us discover a craftmanship here which has been carefully preserved from generation to generation,’ explains Robert. At the heart of Watts’ practice is the message of Pope Benedict XVI: beauty is not mere decoration rather an essential element of the liturgical action.

The Watts showroom in Westminster, London, England.

Celebrating its 150 years anniversary this year, Robert Hoare is passionate to maintain and develop the company’s mission of contributing to the beauty of the liturgy far into the future.

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Sacred Music Weekend Workshop in Winnipeg!

Plan to join the weekend workshop August 25-27, 2023 on sacred music at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, 250 Burrin, Winnipeg, MB.

The workshop is targeted for beginners who wish to learn the fundamentals of Gregorian Chant, fostering a deeper appreciation of sacred music and equipping attendees with tools and knowledge to bring beautiful music to use at their parishes.

A Parish Book of Chant book will be provided for each registrant, as well as all needed materials for the workshop and lunch on Saturday, all for the very reasonable cost of CA$75.

The workshop will be led by Catherine Helferty.

Schedule of events:

Friday, August 25, 2023

1:30 pm – Registration
2:00 pm – Rehearsal for Sext
3:30 pm – Break
3:45 pm – Talk on Jubilate Deo
4:45 pm – Break
5:00 pm – Rehearsal for Mass
6:00 pm – Dinner (on your own)

Saturday, August 26, 2023

9:00 am – Rehearsal for Mass
10:15 am – Break
10:30 am – Rehearsal for Sext
11:45 am – Break
12:00 pm – Sext
12:30 pm – Lunch (provided)
1:30 pm – Rehearsal for Mass
3:00 pm – Break

Sunday, August 27, 2023

10:00 am – Rehearsal for Mass
11:00 am – Holy Mass

To register, please contact the workshop organizers at: winnipegchant@gmail.com, or by telephone at: 204-330-7174

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SCSM Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS

Annual Meeting of the Society for Christian Scholarship in Music

Deadline for proposals, October 1, 2022
Conference dates: March 2–4, 2023
Conference web site: www.scsmusic.org
Conference venue: Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC

Individual papers, research posters, panels, and lecture recitals on any topic related to the study of music and Christianity are welcome. We invite submissions representing a variety of approaches and perspectives, including ethnomusicology, historical musicology, theory and analysis, philosophy, theology, liturgy, congregational music, as well as other methodologies. All submissions should have a clear title. Lecture-recital proposals should contain the list of pieces with approximate timings.

SCSM encourages submissions from current graduate students. A $250 prize will be awarded for the best paper presented by a graduate student at the meeting. In addition, graduate students whose proposals are accepted are eligible to apply for travel assistance from the SCSM Graduate Student Travel Fund.

Note: We are planning on an in-person meeting, along with some online offerings. When submitting a proposal, please indicate whether you intend to present in person or via online. (Changes in presentation format may be possible, but only up to a deadline to be determined by the program committee.) Regardless, all conference participants need to be available during the days of the conference for synchronous sessions.

Please visit the conference website for proposal details. Please send submissions or questions to Mark Peters, program committee chair, at mark.peters@trnty.edu.

Fall Sacred Music Workshop in California!

Fall Sacred Music Workshop 2022 | Menlo Park, California

The Church Music Association of America is pleased to announce the first Fall Sacred Music Workshop for Chant and Polyphony. This four-day workshop offers participants the opportunity to study chant and polyphony with outstanding directors and presenters Dr. Horst Buchholz, Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, David Hughes, Dr. William Mahrt, and Rev. Robert Pasley. We also welcome guest speakers Maggie Gallagher, of the Benedict XVI Institute, and Fr. Samuel Weber, of St. Patrick’s Seminary.

Participate in singing the beautiful liturgies with the CMAA on September 15, 16, and 17 at St. Patrick’s Seminary in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, California. Join in with morning and night prayer and enjoy an evening with sung Vespers and an organ recital.

Lodging will be available at Vallombrosa Retreat Center during the workshop. Full meals and lodging are available for participants. Commuter options also available.

Liturgies will be at St. Patrick’s Seminary.

Get all the details here: FALL WORKSHOP

Register online here: ONLINE REGISTRATION

Cantores de Ecclesia – Seven Last Words

CANTORES IN ECCLESIA presents 

JAMES MACMILLAN

SEVEN LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSS & ONE EQUAL MUSIC 

with guest conductor DAVID HILL

 at St. Philip Neri Church 

7:30pm Wednesday, April 13, 2022

James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross (1994) is one of the most intense works of choral music written in the last generation. It is a large piece in seven movements, each reflecting on one of the dying statements of Christ as recorded in the gospels. MacMillan borrows freely from traditional sources such as Scottish funeral laments and the ceremonies of Holy Week, adding his own distinctive musical style and vast emotional

range. MacMillan’s One Equal Music (2016) was commissioned by John Morrill in memory of his wife, Frances. The text is taken from a prayer by John Donne. The Portland performance will be the North American premier of this new work.

Renowned for his fine musicianship, David Hill is widely respected as both a choral and orchestral conductor. His talent has been recognized by his appointments as Musical Director of The Bach Choir, Music Director of Leeds Philharmonic Society, Associate Guest conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum. He was Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from September 2007 to September 2017 and is a former Music Director of Southern Sinfonia.

Mr. Hill has had a long association with Cantores in Ecclesia, beginning in 1987, when the choir sang for Mass in Westminster Cathedral in London. He came to Portland the following year to give an organ recital and to conduct Charles Marie Widor’s Mass for Two Choirs and Two Organs. Since then, he has conducted Cantores in Ecclesia on several occasions over the years.

Read David’s full bio HERE.

About Cantores in Ecclesia: Blake Applegate, director

For over thirty years, Cantores in Ecclesia (singers in church) has specialized in Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony within the liturgical context of the Latin Mass of the Catholic Church.  Cantores in Ecclesia has sung for concerts and liturgies at home and abroad, including tours to Mexico, Spain, France, England and Italy, and has recorded compact discs, including three chant recordings for Oregon Catholic Press. The choir has been featured in print media and on the internet, including articles in BBC Music Magazine, Brainstorm and The Early Music Review, and has established itself as a leader in liturgical performance, winning loyal supporters at home and gold medals in international competition. This August marks the 23st season of the choir’s William Byrd Festival (www.byrdfestival.org), an annual gathering of musicians and musicologists for two weeks of lectures, sung liturgies, recitals and concerts in honor of William Byrd, widely considered Renaissance England’s greatest composer.  Cantores in Ecclesia, Ltd., is a 501 (c) 3 organization.

 

Choral Festival 2022

The Catholic Sacred Music Project will be hosting its second Choral Festival for Young Professional and Aspiring Church Musicians June 26-July 1 in collaboration with Sacra Liturgia at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California. Martin Baker, the distinguished British choral conductor, will be the festival conductor and lead the participants in singing Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli for an Ordinary Form Mass celebrated by Cardinal Pell as well as a concert of choral music of living Catholic composers. The daily program will include intensive rehearsals, communal meals, panel discussions on sacred music, as well as all of the Sacra Liturgia liturgies and addresses given by Cardinal Sarah, Cardinal Pell, Archbishop Cordileone, and Dr. Jennifer Donelson–Nowicka.

The Catholic Sacred Music Project was founded in 2021 to provide spiritual and musical formation for Catholic musicians in order to effect a widespread renewal of sacred music in the Church. Through intensive encounters with leading musical artists and performing masterworks from the treasury of the Church’s musical tradition, Catholic musicians are given the knowledge and skills they need to serve the Church more faithfully and to renew and develop its culture of sacred music.

All interested musicians are encouraged to apply though space is limited. Applications will be accepted until April 9 and evaluated no later than April 16. For more information, visit the CSMP website: https://www.sjbsacredmusic.org/

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Register Now for CMAA Summer Programs!

The Church Music Association of America (CMAA) is happy to announce that we will be holding in-person events this year. We hope you’ll make plans to join us for lovely liturgies, inspiration, education, and camaraderie.

SUMMER COURSES | June 14-18, 2022 | St. Mary’s Catholic Church,  Hagerstown, MD

SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM | June 20-25, 2022 | St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Hagerstown, MD

Both events are also hosted by The Collegium of Hagerstown, Maryland.

 

Our SUMMER COURSES will include:

  • NEW!!! Vocal Training Intensive, Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam, Instructor
  • Laus in Ecclesia – Level One (Clear Creek Abbey), Kathy Reinheimer, Instructor
  • NEW!!! Laus in Ecclesia – Level Two (Clear Creek Abbey), Br. Mark Bachmann, Instructor

For details about the courses and the schedule, visit our webpage here: SUMMER COURSES.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW – SUMMER COURSES

The SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM will feature the opportunity to sing in chant and polyphony choirs, hear inspiring plenary talks and breakouts, join in morning and night prayer, and add your voice to the music at liturgies Tuesday – Saturday, plus Vespers on Thursday.

The liturgies at St. Mary’s Catholic Church will be:

  • June 21, 2022, 4:30 pm, Mass, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Novus ordo (NO), Spanish / Latin
  • June 22, 2022, 4:30 pm, Mass, Memorial of Ss. John Fisher and Thomas More, NO, English
  • June 23, 2022, 4:30 pm, Mass, Nativity of St. John the Baptist, NO, Latin
  • June 23, 2022, 7:00 pm, Vespers, 1st Vespers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Usus antiquior (UA), Latin
  • June 24, 2022, 4:30 pm, Mass, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (UA), Latin
  • June 25, 2022, 10:30 am, Mass, Requiem Mass for Deceased CMAA Members, UA, Latin

For all the details about the Colloquium, including faculty, choirs, repertory, schedule, detail about breakout topics, visit our webpage here: SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW – COLLOQUIUM

If you want to help support our in-person programs, particularly for scholarships and reduced registration fees for seminarians and students, please consider making a donation to the CMAA.

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