Gregorian Chant Network: new logo

We are pleased to announce our new logo.
It was designed for us by Daniel Mitsui, a Chicago-based artist, of the Lion and the Cardinal blog.

Schola Gregoriana Spring Weekend

Associates’ Spring Weekend, Holy Cross Priory, Leicester

11-13th March 2011

March 11-13, Holy Cross Dominican Priory, Leicester hosts a programme of Gregorian and Dominican chant and worship with beginners’ and more advanced classes preparing Vespers, Compline and for Mass in Ordinary and Extra-ordinary forms. For details go to www.scholagregoriana.org 'events' or ’phone a local organiser (01509 852259 or 0116 2856158).

More details.

Booking form.

St Bede the Musician

From an email.

I am writing to you in my capacity of the Chair of the Friends of Bede's World, a museum in Jarrow which celebrates the life and times of Bede. Amongst other things, we arrange public lunchtime lectures on the last Saturday of the winter months. In our wisdom (or foolishness) we decided to theme this year's lectures under the banner of "Bede the Musician"

I'd like to invite the North East Early Music Forum to attend the lectures. They are free of charge, once you are in the museum (entry to the museum costs £5.50 for an adult, with concessions for the unwaged and families. Of course, you could become a Friend of the museum, paying a single £15.00 per adult which gives you free entry to the museum for a year), and I think we have an exciting programme:

January 29th, we have Gordon Jackson speaking under the title "Chad and the Angels": Gordon is a poet who has translated most of Bede's Latin hymns into English

March 26th, we have John Rowlands-Pritchard speaking under the title of Bede and Monastic and Roman chant. John is also running a workshop on Gregorian Chant, for which there will be a cost

On April 1st the Durham Singers are holding a concert in St, Paul's Church, Jarrow, including some modern choral settings of Bede's texts

April 30th, we have Katherine Barker speaking under the title "Aldhelm of Malmesbury, poet and composer: setting the scene for Bede's World of Music". Katherine has recently supervised a recreation of Aldhelm's "Carmina"

And on October 29th, we have Carl Phelpstead of Cardiff University: no title as yet, but he's promised something on secular music of the period

Thank you for taking the time to read this email

Further information on the website:
http://www.bedesworld.co.uk/friends-of-bedesworld.htm

Yours faithfully
D. Richard Walsh

Chair
Friends of Bede's World


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Portsmouth Chant Course reminder

Gregorian Chant WorkshopS 2011

St John's Cathedral Portsmouth

Beginners and advanced students

Led by two experts in the Chant:

Abbot Cuthbert Brogan OSB, Abbot of St Michael’s Abbey and

Christopher Hodkinson, director of Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge

Workshops begin at 10am and conclude with service at 4pm

15 January, 19 February, 19 March, 16 April, 11 June

Fee £15 per Workshop + one-off Course Book fee £10

Reductions for students, groups, bursaries available, apply below.

To register: chantnetwork@gmail.com or Tel: 023 92862384

In association with

The Gregorian Chant Network, the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge and the Latin Mass Society

Beginners' Course in Solesmes

Just had this by email; it sounds very exciting.

Beginners Chant Course at Solesmes, February 2011

Participants will travel by rail and stay in the abbey or in nearby accomodation. They will attend the Divine Office with the monks and receive instruction from Dom Yves-Marie Lelièvre, choirmaster of Solesmes.

Dates: Thursday 3rd - Sunday 6th February 2011

Approximate cost: £300


For more details contact Candy Bartoldus (asap); email:

cbartold@gmu.edu or phone: 0754 010 8204

Pope Receives 'Pueri Cantores'

From the Vatican News Service's Blog:

VATICAN CITY, 30 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received participants in an international congress of the International Federation of "Pueri Cantores", currently being held in Rome.

The Pope addressed the group in English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Polish and Ukrainian. "As you use your talents and your faith to sing God's praises, you give voice to the natural desire of every human being to glorify Him, with songs of love", he said. "Yet beautiful music is able to express something of the mystery of God's love for us and ours for Him, as we are reminded by the theme chosen for your Congress: 'Deus Caritas Est'".

"Always remember that your singing is a service. Firstly, it is a service to God, a way of giving Him the praise that is due. It is also a service to your fellow worshippers, helping them to raise their hearts and minds to the Lord in prayer. And it is a service to the whole Church, offering a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy that is the goal of all true worship, when the choirs of angels and saints unite in one unending song of love and praise".
AC/ VIS 20101230 (210)

Chant CD now back up on LMS site

With the move to a new site, the Latin Mass Society temporarily lost the excellent selection of chants done by John Tennant. These are now uploaded onto the new site on a special page of their own: Chant Dowloads.

This is one of the most useful selections of chants available: it includes the Asperges and Vidi Aquam, Masses I, II, IV, XI, XVII and XVIII, the Ordinary of the Requiem, Credo I and Credo IV, all four Marian Anthems in both Simple and Solemn tones, a selection of commonly-sung chants from the back of the Liber Usualis and the Domine salvam fac - the prayer for the Queen sung at the end of Sunday Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Some of these, like the Domine salvam fac and Solemn tones of the Marian Anthems, simply aren't available on other chant selection CDs.

John Tennant, who sings regularly at St Bede's, Clapham Park, is very clear in his singing and is unaccompanied.

All for free! In MP3 format.

Chants for priests

'Windsor Latin Mass' has on their website some very nicely produced sheets with Collects, Epistles, Gospels, Postcommunions etc. set out in full to square notes for the priest to use.

An excellent initiative!

See here.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thought for the week

"Even though, as one can see, there are long and short notes in Gregorian Chant, as in all speech, it is not on this object that we should focus our attention. Who dreams of scanning his words while speaking? It is sufficient that one takes care to pronounce them well and distribute them well according to the natural divisions of the phrase."

Dom Pothier, architect of the Solesmes revival of Gregorian Chant, 1880.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Masterclass in Sicilian Chant

Master class Medieval Mediterranean Chant techniques - Graindelavoix on Friday, November 26th from 10am till 5pm

On Friday November 26th 2010 the ensemble graindelavoix organizes an exceptional master class for singers and all interested people in De Singel, Antwerp. Subject are the fascinating chant traditions of 12th century Palermo (Sicily).

We will work on the vocal and modal techniques of these repertoires:

· Italo-Byzantine chant

· Moroccan and Tunisian sufi chant

· Norman-Sicilian Chant

Björn Schmelzer, together with Adrian Sîrbu, Hassan Boufous and Marius Perterson, singers and international specialists of these repertoires, invites all kind of singers and voice types to join.

The master class can be joined without foreknowledge. Also passive participants, interested non-singers, are welcome!

Next to vocal techniques, modal traditions and ornamental practice we will concentrate on the context of these kind of repertoires.

Info and registration (free!) via mail to Hendrik De Rycker: hendrik@graindelavoix.be or via phone: +32.(0)485/79.28.08

On Friday evening November 26th in Bozar and on Sunday November 28th graindelavoix will perform concerts with these repertoires.

See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wwflzqqBmI&feature=related : a fragment of this repertoire performed by Adrian Sîrbu and graindelavoix.

www.graindelavoix.be

Supported by Stad Antwerpen, Moussem Festival and De Singel - Artesis Hogeschool.

Chant on the Radio

From an email.
-------------------------

Every Sunday morning Una Voce France delivers a broadcast which lasts about one hour. Its title is “Chant Gregorien, prière chantée”. It is exclusively dedicated to the Gregorian chant of the Mass of the day (as well as that of approaching Feast days) and the Kyriale, Credo… A short commentary explains the origin of these Gregorian chants and their meaning. The broadcast is also available on the preceding Monday on the Una Voce website as well as on various radio stations. A real liturgical training of the “Church’s sung prayer” is thus taking place on a regular basis.

Patrick Banken, President. Una Voce France.

http://www.unavoce.fr/

Weird but true

H-t Fr Ray!

Course of one-day workshops in Portsmouth

This is a most exciting development: the GCN and the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge are joinly organising a series of chant workshops in Portsmouth, to build on the success of the one-day event this Summer.

Thanks to sponsorship from the Latin Mass Society, there are discounts for groups and for LMS members: please email us for full details.

GREGORIAN CHANT WORKSHOPS at
ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL, PORTSMOUTH
Seven Workshops running between October
2010 and April 2011
Led by two very knowledgable and talented singers and teachers of Chant:
Abbot Cuthbert Brogan Abbot of Farnborough Abbey
and
Christopher Hodkinson a Director of Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge

All levels of experience welcome.

Dates:
Saturday 30th October 2010 Saturday 20th November 2010
Saturday 18th December 2010 Saturday 15th January 2011
Saturday 19th February 2011 Saturday 19th March 2011
Saturday 16th April 2011

Fee: £85.00 for all seven Workshops (Course book included) or
£15.00 per individual Workshop plus Course book fee.
Tea and coffee available

For further enquiries and to register,
contact: chantnetwork@gmail.com
or 023 9286 2384

In Association with:
Gregorian Chant Network (www.gregorianchantnetwork.org) and
Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge

Residential Course 2011: dates announced

Download the application form here.

The Gregorian Chant Network
will be holding its second 3-day training weekend, in 2011,
to be directed by Colin Mawby,
with the assistance of Nigel Kerry.

8-10th April, at the Oratory School,
Reading RG8 0PJ

View Larger Map

Beginners and advanced groups, sung Mass each day, Sung Compline, Vespers, Benediction and other devotions, courtesy of the St Catherine's Trust Family Retreat taking place alongside the course.

Fees:
Full fee £90 per person. £10 discount for members of the Latin Mass Society.

Big discounts for groups coming from affiliated choirs, thanks to sponsorship from the Latin Mass Society.

Two people from one choir: £60 each
Three or more people from one choir: £40
Plus a £10 discount for members of the LMS.

Equiries please email: chantnetwork@gmail.com

Chant Forum (Panel of Monastic Musicians)

I have just recieved this.

Meeting of the Chant Forum, 4 - 7 May 2010

The Chant Forum was established in 2006, in response to a widely felt need, in order to support and encourage the singing of Gregorian Chant in our monasteries. Previous meetings have been held at Mt. St. Bernard, Stanbrook, Douai and Downside. This year the venue was Pluscarden. Seventeen guests came, representing the monasteries of Ampleforth, Crawley Down, Douai, Ealing, Kristo Buase, Oulton, Petersham, Ramsgate, Rostrevor, New Stanbrook and Worth. In addition we were joined by the directors of three Gregorian Choirs attached to Catholic Cathedrals or parishes. Guests expected from the Abbeys of Glenstal and Roscrea in Ireland had to cancel at the last minute: the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud was disrupting many flights at just this time. The two founders of the Forum, both currently resident in Rome, were unfortunately not able to be with us. Various others, also unable to attend, nevertheless expressed much interest, and financial support was received from the Fernham Trust and an anonymous benefactor, so that we were able to keep all costs to a minimum.

The main speaker for our meeting was Mr. Jaan-Eik Tulve, master interpreter of Gregorian Chant, director of prestigious Gregorian Choirs in Estonia and France, formerly a close collaborator with Dom Daniel Saulnier of Solesmes, and widely travelled musical advisor to many monastic communities. This was his second visit to Pluscarden: two years ago he came to help our Choir improve its understanding and interpretation of the Chant, and to direct us in recording some pieces for a Holy Week CD.

When Jaan-Eik speaks, and also when he sings, it is immediately apparent that he understands what the Chant is doing, where it is going, what was the intention of its authors, and how we can make that intention our own. With our meeting being held in the fifth week of Easter, he devoted his sessions largely to examination of the Masses of Ascension and Pentecost. He rarely referred to the printed page. So thoroughly does he know this music, in its every detail and nuance, that like its early practitioners he is able to sing it, as it were, simply from the heart. I think all present felt a sense of privilege in this opportunity to sit at his feet, and watch him in action. A single session, just interpreting, for example, an Alleluia verse, would have made the whole meeting worth while.
Jaan-Eik’s focus is always first of all on the text: the music is there for the text, and not vice versa. He would often begin any practice by having everyone speak through the text together, paying particular attention to the verbal accents. Of course the Gregorian composer could approach any text in widely differing ways: sometimes an exuberant proclamation, sometimes a deeply interior meditation; now with great energy and movement, now with the utmost serenity and calm. To understand what he is up to musically, we have to let him lead us in responding to the text as he does, and to pray it with him.

To convey just some of the lessons Jaan-Eik loved to return to time and again: we should never think of notes in a Gregorian piece as somehow disjunct units. On the contrary, they are always part of a movement, flowing always towards its end. A great part of good interpretation is to “feel” this movement; to see where it is heading; to know which notes are structurally important, and which light passing ornaments. Always the phrase should be sung smoothly, with “a very good legato”. Breathing should be completely natural, relaxed; absolutely without strain or tension. Good breath control should enable us to sing long phrases to the end without any break. Jaan-Eik is much in favour of a Choir director conducting all pieces. If he has the music in his hands, he can lead any group to pass beyond merely singing correct notes, to achieve a living interpretation which will also be well united. Throughout his stay, Jaan-Eik himself directed our Choir at Mass, and it was indeed a joy to experience the beneficial effects of this.

Other speakers at our meeting included Fr. Gerard Byrne of the Glasgow Archdiocese. His subject was the current state of the Chant outside the monasteries. He spoke of his own experience, including in Rome, and looked at the many interventions of the Magisterium on the subject, dwelling especially on the phrase of Vatican II “actuosa participatio”. Jennifer Smith, professional singer and singing teacher gave a session of instruction which she called “Chanting on the breath of God”. Our own home team also gave talks: on teaching the Chant to novices, and on St. Benedict’s phrase, referring to the liturgy in Eastertide: “Alleluia without intermission” (Holy Rule 15:1).
When the majority of our Forum guests had departed, Jaan-Eik stayed on for some days to give more direct help to our own Choir. One tangible result of this was a reform in the way we interpret sung Psalmody! He also helped us launch another recording project: this time for a CD of Easter Chant.

Clearly the meeting was worthwhile and much appreciated by all participants. Plans are therefore already in place for another to be held next year, once again at Douai Abbey.