I will be in Belgium the Sundays July 5 and 12. Does anyone have a recommendation for a beautiful sung Mass in Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, or Antwerp, or in a monastery in the vicinity of these cities? Thanks.
While the music is modern (much of it by André Gouzes or in his style) the liturgy of the Fraternités Monastiques dé Jerusalem at Saint Gilles in Brussels is to my mind quite beautiful. Sunday Mass is at 11:30, but I believe Mass is sung every day except Monday at 6:30 pm (Vespers at 6:00), so it would be worth a visit on a weekday as well.
In Leuven, not far from Brussels, Sint-Kwintenskerk used to have a Gregorian schola, though it's been over a decade since I went there so I can't say for sure whether it is still there. Other than the chant, however, the liturgy is nothing special. Indeed, Belgian liturgy is pretty bleak in general.
You might have good luck at the first recommended church since you are not limited to the city center. I thought the FSSP schola at Église St-Jean-St-Étienne aux Minimes sang the chant solidly, and the organ was very good. But the schola is obviously limited in repetoire.
FYI the Wiki is good, but not entirely accurate due to the unstable nature these days of having the TLM... It is worth sending an email a few weeks in advance and checking the website.
I attended the Mass as Sacre-Coeur de Lindhurst. It was in a small very nice Gothic chapel attached to a school. It was a missa cantata in the extraordinary form, celebrated by a Monsignor appointed by the diocese, who sang the Mass competently. The liturgy was largely by the book, with a few anomalies.
The lessons were sung from lecturns on the epistle and gospel side, including the singing of the closing versicles (Verbum Domini, Deo gratias; sung only the the OF). The Monsignor sat as soon as he recited the gradual and alleluia at the altar, while the schola finished the gradual. He then stood as they began the alleluia, and the congregation mostly followed suit. The Monsignor took off his chasuble for the sermon (usually they take off only the maniple), certainly no importation from the new rite.
The music was provided by a professor from Louvain (as I understand it); he directed a schola of three men, who sang creditably, he sang the epistle, and he played the organ at several points in the Mass.
The propers were all sung completely in Gregorian chant by the schola; the ordinary was sung alternatim between two women (who sang very purely and sweetly) and the congregation, accompanied by the organ. The ordinary was Mass XII.
in addition to the singers, the acolyte, and the priest, there were about twenty-five people in attendance. All seemed to cultivate the liturgy with tender loving care.
Since Dr. Mahrt has already asked once about Belgium, may I go to the well again?
My lovely bride has bought us tickets to a recital by Valentina Lisitsa in Liège this coming Sunday (29 April). We would love to go to Mass in the city that morning. Does anyone know where we might find good music, and at which Mass? Liège has many churches, but I was unable to find anything about the music programs online (my French is rusty, and I speak little Dutch and no Walloon). Any help or guidance you can offer would be most welcome!
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