World Youth Day with polyphony and chant!
  • CGM
    Posts: 683
    Many of you know that World Youth Day is an event convened every 2-3 years, where high school and college-aged kids and young adults from all over the world gather in some large international city (e.g. Cologne, Sydney, Madrid...) for a week, to celebrate Mass, meet the Pope (or at least be near him), and grow in their faith. This event is huge - millions of young people convene every time it happens! In fact, World Youth Day 1995 in Manila held the record for the largest-ever papal event, when over five million pilgrims gathered for Mass with Pope St. John Paul II. (That record was recently broken when Pope Francis celebrated a Mass for over six million people… in Manila!)

    This summer World Youth Day will be held in Krakow, Poland, and I have the honor of having been invited to conduct all the music at the English-language Masses! There are so many English-speaking pilgrims that these Masses will be held in a giant stadium. There will be a morning Mass each day, for five consecutive days.

    Additionally, my family, which sings polyphony and chant together as the Mueller Family Schola, has been invited to give a concert as one of the cultural events that take place each evening at this enormous gathering. And my wife and kids will not only be present for our concert, but they’ll be joining me to sing at all the Masses I’ll be conducting as well.

    One of my goals is to incorporate polyphony and chant into every Mass. I think it would be amazing to set a kind of liturgical template that youth from all over the world would take back to their parishes. “We heard all this beautiful music at the Masses in Poland - can’t we have that same music at our own church?” I’ve been working closely with Dominican Friars from the United States and Poland as we carefully plan all these liturgies. And we expect a pretty big choir!

    But here’s where I need your help:

    In order to direct the wonderful music this July in Krakow, my family and I first have to get to Krakow. And so I’m asking if you would support our Kickstarter campaign, to help us raise enough funds to bring gorgeous polyphony, beautiful chant, and ourselves to Poland. We would be very grateful for your help, and we promise to pray for you unceasingly in our gratitude!

    Thank you for your kind consideration and for your support -

    Chris Mueller and the Mueller Family Schola
    Thanked by 12canadash CHGiffen Casavant Organist M. Jackson Osborn CCooze Ben rich_enough Heath eft94530 bonniebede Mary Ann KyleM18
  • Casavant Organist
    Posts: 800
    Wow this is just absolutely amazing. I am moved, and I will look into giving as much as I can for you. I'm so glad there will be proper music at papal masses outside of Rome finally.

    Thanked by 2CGM canadash
  • Carl DCarl D
    Posts: 992
    Phenomenal!
    Thanked by 3canadash CGM Casavant Organist
  • CGM
    Posts: 683
    We'd like to thank everyone who has made a donation, large or small — we've been able to raise 37% of needed funds in just 25% of the allotted time!

    We encourage everyone who thinks this is a worthy endeavor to visit our campaign, donate if you can, and spread the word through email, FB, etc.

    Thank you again!
  • CGM
    Posts: 683
    SOME THRILLING NEWS!

    We just learned that a generous benefactor would like to match all the donations received from this point onward! This means that for every dollar given on or after Tuesday, April 19th, it’ll be matched, dollar-for-dollar, until we reach our goal. (Donations are not doubled at Kickstarter checkout; matching funds will be disbursed at the conclusion of the campaign.)

    We are so very grateful to everyone who has already donated — and to those who haven’t, please consider giving something now, and your donation will go twice as far!
    Thanked by 2rich_enough eft94530
  • eft94530eft94530
    Posts: 1,577
    Go team!
    Thanked by 1CGM
  • Andris Amolins
    Posts: 152
    It is great news that there will be high-quality sacred music in some of the Masses (besides those of the Juventutem). The announcement of the Kickstarter campaign made me somewhat curious, though. Did not those who hired Mr. Mueller (Holy See, Archdiocese of Cracow?) for this event agree to give an advance payment of travel allowance? Only afterwards I realized that the whole family is going while they would pay only one conductor. This would explain the expenses. Correct?
    Thanked by 1PaxMelodious
  • JesJes
    Posts: 574
    WOW THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!
    G'Day I'm from Melbourne and I was so upset with the Sydney WYD because we used some sort of Hillsong singer for the main mass!!!!!
    With regards to saving funds on printing etc. I'd make PDF's (of course of copyright free material) and send those to people who express their interest. People are likely to use their phones and read off them then.
  • GerardH
    Posts: 410
    Speaking of Sydney and World Youth Day, I and a bunch of other musically-minded Aussies are heading to Poland with the Sydney Archdiocese groups, and it looks like we'll be organising the music for any Masses held just for the Sydney pilgrims. This will include hundreds of Catholic School kids, and they won't know what has hit them when we break out the Tallis and Palestrina!

    Also feel free to send some moolah my way once Chris and fam have been fully funded - I'm a poor starving student who hasn't got ten cents to rub together :P
  • JesJes
    Posts: 574
    Sadly... most catholic school kids from Aus won't know what hit them when they receive communion on a Sunday... :(

    I too am a student so please stay strong you're doing good things! (Consider baking sales, my friend did it and raised enough to go to the last WYD)
  • KyleM18
    Posts: 150
    Does anyone have any of the music used at WYD? I am in love with Pawel Bebenek, but all of the versions of his music I have found are in polish, and God forbid a high school choir learns polish, much less latin! I've used his Missa de misericordiae, but would like the other hymns as well. Or at least where to buy them. I know of the Poland Dominicans, but I don't know if they have english lyrics.
  • CGM
    Posts: 683
    Kyle - I was the conductor there. PM me and I'd be happy to pass along whatever you might request.
  • CGM
    Posts: 683
    In case anyone wonders what happened with the polyphony and chant at last year's World Youth Day, here are a few samples:

    — Jesu, Rex admirabilis, Palestrina
    — In te, Domine, speravi, Hassler
    — Ave maris stella, Gregorian plainsong
    — Anima Christi, Eucharistic chant
    Thanked by 1PaxTecum
  • Chris Garton-Zavesky
    Posts: 6,902
    Evidently the organizers of WYD did not speak to Pope Francis before planning the music?
  • mahrt
    Posts: 517
    Congratulations to the Mueller Family Schola. Your examples are beautiful! We will be proud of you at World Youth Day.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen CGM
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