Report on Portsmouth Chant Days

(Chris Hodkinson leading a Chant workshop in Portsmouth Cathedral).

More than 100 different people have attended one of the current series of Chant Workshops organised at St John’s Cathedral in Portsmouth by the Schola Gregoriana Sancti Nicolai (chant choir in Portsmouth). The Workshops are part of a pioneering Course in Gregorian Chant which continues at the Cathedral until June 2011.

(Chris and Abbot Cuthbert Brogan with the singers.)

Each Workshop introduces a new theme. At the January Workshop, Abbot Cuthbert Brogan, the Benedictine Abbot of St Michael’s Abbey in Farnborough - who co-directs the Course with Christopher Hodkinson of the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge - gave a fascinating introduction to the Divine Office (the daily prayer of the Church) and Vespers. This was followed by practical instruction in singing Vespers which the participants then sang together with Benediction in the Cathedral.

Up until now, participants have learned to sing the Chant without any accompaniment. At the next workshop on Saturday 19 February we will welcome the organist Neil Wright, who will introduce us to the organ and its use in conjunction with Gregorian chant. There will also be an opportunity for a small group of participants with keyboard skills to study chant accompaniment with Neil in more detail, beginning at this workshop and continuing in March (please contact me if you are interested).

(Some of the singers.)

The March workshop, on 19^th, will see a further exploration of the use of instruments in plainchant performance, as we celebrate the feast of St Joseph. Players of melody instruments (strings, brass, woodwind etc.) are invited to bring their instruments to both February and March workshops to participate in this. Players of low-register instruments (cellos, trombones, bassoons etc.) are especially welcome. Instrumentalists are requested to bring a music stand. (Please contact me if you plan to bring an instrument or if you have any questions).

Every effort has been made to keep the Course fee as low as possible. For those who haven’t yet signed up, the individual Workshop fee is £15 and the course book (Parish Book of Chant) is available at discounted price of £10. Reductions on the Workshop fee are available for students, children and groups. Bursaries are also available on application.

(Abbot Cuthbert presiding at Vespers in a cope.)

Please contact the organisers, the Schola Gregoriana Sancti Nicolai, as soon as possible, as follows:

E-mail: chantnetwork@gmail.com or Telephone: 023 92862384

Next Workshop is on Saturday 19 February, starts 1000.

Remaining Course dates are: 19 February, 19 March, 16 April and 11 June

There are a couple more photos here.

Proportionalism in the Chant

A fascinating article based on numerous historical sources on rythm in the chant, by Alasdair Cordona of Salmaire, Gregorian Chant Study and Performance Group (Edinburgh), can be read here.

Only rarely do we read hints that chant may have been rhythmically differentiated, and only in two instances are there remarks about the choir singing in strict proportional rhythms. Sometimes silence may speak volumes, but an argumentum ex silentio is weak for all that.
Gregorian chant (2009), David Hiley, p185

Is it true that only rare hints and an argumentum ex silencio support the use of proportional durations in Latin chant? Or is it rather the case that there are only rare (and condemnatory) descriptions of rhythmic nuancing and an argumentum ex silencio supporting that instead?

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


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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.


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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.


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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