The Stepping Stone Chant Project is pleased to announce that their first CD, "Blessed is the Ordinary," has been released by Brave Records and is available for sale here:
The CD features an entire OF Latin Mass for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, as well as several of the communion antiphons listed in the Graduale for general use. The recording took place here:
You forgot to mention that cdbaby offers previews of every track! I can't wait to hear the whole thing, but I found it very revealing to hear how rigidly I was chanting myself (psalm verse for "Qui manducat," which I had learned before) compared to the nuance that I now expect from my schola just a year later (more like what is heard in "Gustate," which was new to me at the time -- shameful, I know). This gives me great hope for where my group could be another year from now, with the aid of the teaching resources available from CMAA and sample recordings, like the excellent ones by Turco and this one from Stepping Stone Chant Project. I'm giving one to each of my choir members as an early Christmas gift.
I was sufficiently charmed by the snippets (and my prior knowledge of the excellent voice of M. Olbash) to purchase a copy forthwith and posthaste.
I'm also going to be giving it air time on my weekly radio program that features both early and modern (with little in the middle) music. I love to play chant from American sources, even better if they're non-monastic. I have nothing against Europeans and/or religious choirs, but it's nice to demonstrate that one need not be either of the foregoing to sing chant beautifully.
I ordered two, one for me and one for my priest as a Christmas gift. We have a priest here who is very interested in chants, but not trained for EF Mass. Our schola is thinking of helping him learning the EF. This CD will be an encouragement for him.
Thanks.
Mia, that sounds like a great idea. I'm sure the CD will be very helpful and inspirational. However, make note that the Mass presented is the Ordinary Form (OF). Of course many parts will carry over between the two. I just got my copy of the CD in the mail yesterday and I had a chance to listen to it last night. I think you will enjoy it!
Thanks, incantu. (OF) Latin mass somehow slipped in my mind. (We don't have any mass in Latin in our parish or nearby area, as you can tell.) I will clarify that to my priest when I give it to him.
Sorry to ask this. But why do we have OF in Latin, instead of EF. Is it mainly because of the participation of the people?
I think Michael's trying to demonstrate that pastors and musicians can incorporate chant in Ordinary Form Masses, including those celebrated in the vernacular. Most Masses will continue to be in the Ordinary Form, and the Church certainly wants this music to be sung in them.
And, of course, the Ordinary Form is in Latin to begin with. The celebrant or pastor might choose to say any individual part in the vernacular, but he is not required to do so. However, when the choice is made to do every individual part of the Mass in translation every week, it can appear as if Latin were the foreign language, instead of vice versa.
Once upon a time, there was a Pope named John the Twenty-Third. In a fit of nervousness, he thought it was a good idea to call a new ecumenical council in the middle of convulsive cultural agitations we now call "the Sixties."
Now, one of the people involved in that council was a priest named Annibale Bugnini...
From there, the plot thickens.
But to stay on topic, I'm very happy to see this CD, and I hope that it helps the lay apostolate for Gregorian chant to grow.
There are many things I don't understand why the Chruch had to do certain things. In someways I think I can see why the Church had to offer us EF and OF. It's like we have elementary, middle and high school. I could not have appreciated and understand EF mass until last year. I had to learn and deepen my faith to understand the true meaning of the Holy Mass. Although I discovered the EF is the most sacred, not everyone can take it. So we have OF with vernacular, and the next step, middle school (OF in Latin, bridge to EF). The curriulum in elementary level has been so poor these days, and everything has to be fun- oriented. (both in schools and churches) But it wasn't the Church's intention for OF and use of vernacular to be so out of hand in many local parishes. Maybe my analogy is oversimplyfied, this helps me to understand the Church better on this matter. And I'm very glad the EF is kept as it is. And this CD of OF is a great help to many.
A book by Scott Hahn, The Lamb's Supper: the Mass as Heaven on Earth is an excellent exposition, I think, and very accessible. I've given it as presents to friends, and they invariably come away with a new attitude. Gift idea.
And where are the cows? My only disappointment with the cd is the deletion of the cow bells. Those not involved with the production of this recording might be interested to know that before each take we had to wait for the cows to settle down. It didn't always work and there had to be many retakes.
By the way, incantu was the first to suggest that the CD title should refer to "moosica sacra" or "Angus Dei".
In addition to bells, we also had to contend with the lowing of the farm's newly weaned calves. Did any of those make it into the final product? There must have been some tracks in which they couldn't be eradicated altogether... or?
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