My choir has been trying to get weekly Sunday Vespers off the ground for years, without success. The singers don't quite have the sight-singing skills needed to sing out of the book every week without rehearsal. Even EF Vespers--which contains more repetition and fewer antiphons than OF Vespers--is daunting when the liturgical calendar throws you curveballs throughout the year.

Starting this week, we're trying a different approach. This is the plan, which I'm sharing in the hopes others might be inspired to do the same:

1. Everyone is responsible for learning one antiphon and its psalm per week. By "learn" I mean: have the antiphon more or less committed to memory, be able to sing through the psalm without making a mistakes, and have an understanding of the sense of the Latin, in time for rehearsal each week (we rehearse Sunday evenings after singing Compline). This is not too difficult a task for this group of singers.

2. (Optional) - in addition to the weekly antiphon, learn one Magnificat antiphon. Those who don't want to take on this option should still ensure that they can sing through the Magnificat in the tone + termination corresponding to the antiphon.

3. We'll rehearse hymns according to a set schedule, devoting four rehearsals to each hymn. We'll do something similar for the seasonal tones of Benedicamus Domino/ Deo Gratias.

We already know the ordinary, antiphons and psalms of Vespers for Sundays of the year. The schedule is designed to allow us to start singing weekly Vespers on January 17, 2016 (2nd Sunday after Epiphany), and always have enough lead time to have all the material learned before a given Sunday arrives.

It will take us slightly more than a year to learn everything we need to know before the liturgical year cycles through again, at which point we can fill in the blanks with the liturgical occasions that didn't come up on Sundays of 2016.

Here's the schedule:

Regular Antiphons

Week 1 Angelus autem
Week 2 Et ecce terrae motus
Week 3 Erat autem
Week 4 Prae timore
Week 5 Respondens autem angelus
Week 6 Dum complerentur
Week 7 Spiritus Domini
Week 8 Repleti sunt omnes
Week 9 Fontes et omnes
Week 10 Loquebantur
Week 11 Gloria tibi
Week 12 Laus et perennis
Week 13 Gloria laudis
Week 14 Laus Deo Patri
Week 15 Ex quo omnia
Week 16 Assumpta est Maria
Week 17 Maria virgo assumpta est
Week 18 In odorem
Week 19 Benedicta filia
Week 20 Pulchra es et decora
Week 21 In illa die
Week 22 Iucundare
Week 23 Ecce Dominus veniet
Week 24 Omnes sitientes
Week 25 Ecce veniet propheta
Week 26 Ecce in nubibus
Week 27 Urbs fortitudinis
Week 28 Ecce apperebit
Week 29 Montes et colles
Week 30 Ecce Dominus noster cum virtute
Week 31 Veniet Dominus
Week 32 Ierusalem gaude
Week 33 Dabo in Sion
Week 34 Montes et omnes
Week 35 Iuste et pie
Week 36 Canite tuba
Week 37 Ecce veniet desideratus
Week 38 Erunt prava
Week 39 Dominus veniet
Week 40 Omnipotens sermo
Week 41 Tecum principium
Week 42 Redemptionem
Week 43 Exortum est
Week 44 Apud Dominum misericordia et copiosa
Week 45 De fructu
Week 46 O admirabile commercium
Week 47 Quando natus est
Week 48 Rubum quem viderat
Week 49 Germinavit
Week 50 Ecce Maria
Week 51 Post triduum
Week 52 Dixit mater Iesu
Week 53 Descendit Iesus
Week 54 Et Iesus proficiebat
Week 55 Et dicebant: Unde

Magnificat antiphons:

Week 1 Deficiente vino
Week 2 Dixit paterfamilias
Week 3 Vobis datum est
Week 4 Stans autem
Week 5 Ecce nunc
Week 6 Visionem quam
Week 7 Extollens
Week 8 Subiit ergo
Week 9 Abraham pater vester
Week 10 Scriptum est enim
Week 11 Et respicientes
Week 12 Post dies octo
Week 13 Ego sum pastor bonus
Week 14 Amen amen dico
Week 15 Vado ad eum
Week 16 Et ipse Jesus
Week 17 Petite, et accipietis
Week 18 Haec locutus sum
Week 19 Hodie completi sunt
Week 20 Te Deum Patrem
Week 21 Exi cito in plateas
Week 22 Quae mulier
Week 23 Praeceptor
Week 24 Si offers
Week 25 Misereor
Week 26 Non potest
Week 27 Quid faciam
Week 28 Scriptum est enim
Week 29 Descendit hic
Week 30 Bene omnia fecit
Week 31 Homo quidam
Week 32 Virgo prudentissima
Week 33 Unus autem
Week 34 Quaerite primum
Week 35 Propheta magnus
Week 36 Cum vocatus
Week 37 Quid vobis
Week 38 Tulit ergo
Week 39 Intravit autem rex
Week 40 Cognovit autem pater
Week 41 Serve nequam
Week 42 Reddite ergo
Week 43 At Iesus conversus
Week 44 Domine, salva nos
Week 45 Colligite primum
Week 46 Simile est regnum coelorum fermento
Week 47 Amen dico vobis
Week 48 Ne timeas Maria
Week 49 Tu es qui venturus
Week 50 Beata es Maria
Week 51 O Adonai
Week 52 Hodie Christus natus
Week 53 Magnum hereditatis
Week 54 Maria autem
Week 55 Domine si vis

Hymns to learn (spend four weeks on each hymn):

Audi benigne
Vexilla Regis
Ad regias Agni dapes
Te Joseph celebret
Salutis humane sator
Iam sol recedit
O prima Virgo
Creator alme
Iesu Redemptor omnium
O lux beata caelitum