Might be starting a schola for a new EF Mass. Where to begin?

SarahJ

Good morning, all!
Lo and behold, it appears that attendance for our Sunday morning Mass is increasing, and so our pastor is contemplating adding an earlier EF Mass. So as music director I have offered to start our own schola.
I have only attended one EF Mass, and have been watching EF videos on YouTube. I will be doing a lot of research!

As far as finding singers, what would your suggestions be? Of course members of our normal choir would be encouraged, and we'd reach out to people in the parish that are interested. Our choir is small and I doubt many would be interested or want to make the additional time commitment. One idea I have is putting up notices in university music departments. Another idea I have (and this one maybe makes me too nervous), is seeing what craigslist attracts (eek?) I need to ask our pastor how big of a net he wants to use, or if he wants to keep the schola Catholic only. I have vocalist friends that might be interested, but I assume they will want to be paid (I doubt this is an option, but I will check.) Any other ideas?

And then, how to begin? Assuming I'll be starting with a rather green group I imagine it will take a while teach just the Ordinaries. Would it be wise to offer the schola just once a month in the beginning, and as they pick up music more quickly offer them twice a month, and then finally every week? Should I offer a beginning workshop where we simply go over reading neumes, Latin pronunciation, and technique for singing chant? Am I completely getting ahead of myself here?

For those of you with a schola, what was your process for building it?

Thank you in advance!

Ben

I did this two years ago, and here are some practical words of advice:

On the gradual, the schola can do first part of gradual, I do second half alone after the V/ (reducing their workload to only half the chant
Chant Abreges - you need to know about this great book. Simplified graduals and alleluias
Don't be afraid to stick with the same ordinary for a while, but don't feel afraid to change when the singers get to a good skill level
Don't be afraid to do propers on your own and ordinary with everyone, or perhaps split into advanced and beginners, where beginners only do the ordinary.

Don't hesitate to let me know if you have any more questions.

StimsonInRehab

What Ben said.

Don't get stuck in the Rossini trap. And get an organist to play under the ordinary; in most situations I've found this does wonders to encouraging congregational singing.

As far as getting singers - start a children's group. Then you have them hooked for life, and they have so many years ahead of them to perfect and fall in love with their craft.

PM me where you're starting up. If close, I might want to stop by sometime! :)

StimsonInRehab

Also - sing as much as possible, but KISS.

Ben

Also don't get stuck in the Low-Mass-as-norm rut. The sung, Solemn Pontifical Mass is the ideal of the Roman rite, and all other versions are stripped down from there.

Even if you have a missa cantata once every other month and low Mass the rest of the time, keep the ideal in your mind, and in the mind of your singers. I consider the job of a schola director to be firstly to teach and lead pieces of music, but a close second as a liturgical formator of his or her singers.

In my case, we started with about once a month sung Masses, quickly moved to every other week, and after a while, moved to every week, as we became able to prepare 1 Mass worth of propers in one rehearsal.

It's almost like NFP: you don't ask why you should have a Sung Mass on any given Sunday...you should be asking why you shouldn't.

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Sarah,
Remember that the Church recognizes our differences in ability to sing, to enter into the mystery of the Mass and so on. If you start with just yourself, someone, seeing the need, will come forward. I wouldn't go to Craigslist or anything similar. Don't think of the need as one of professional-level skilled musicians. Don't turn town professional-level help if it's offered in the service of the liturgy, but just as we wouldn't go looking for little league coaches in a group of helicopter parents, or seminarians in a brothel, we wouldn't go looking for true Church musicians capable of and interested in singing chant in the places you suggest.

Contact juventutem

melofluent

Also - sing as much as possible, but KISS.

Better watch out, Stimson, "Safe Environment" would be all over that. Oh, you meant "Keep it simple, stupid." Now you're in trouble with verbal harassment in the workplace!
Keep it sacred, Stimson! ;-)

StimsonInRehab

If Low Masses are the rule rather than the exception to start off, remember that Low Mass =/= Mass Totally Devoid of Music. You can still sing motets - Latin or English! You could either go French, and have a mass with an abundance of organ music, or you could go German and have a Sung Mass with hymns a la Schubert or Michael Haydn. Low masses can really provide an expansive palette for any music program you would wish to develop. With the end goal being a Solemn High Mass, of course!

And Melo, I meant "Keep it Simple, Sarah". Give me the benefit of the doubt. :P

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Low Masses are the rule --- of what? The standard for the proper celebration of Mass is what's called the Pontifical Mass -- which means with the bishop as the celebrant.

I know I'm going to have to duck for saying this, but if I were in your shoes, Sarah, I would start with a small group of dedicated chant singers. Motets will come, just as sacred polyphony eventually entered the repertoire of the Mass. Don't get a group together 36 hours before your first Mass: treat it like a garden which needs to be nurtured with a final goal of this: once we've sung one Mass, we should expect regularly sung Masses.

barnabus1898

I agree with Ben on using the "Chantes Abreges". It's a great resource! Also, you don't need a huge schola to be incredibly effective. Mine averages 5 souls (including myself), and it is plenty to get started. I would dare say that 2 would be sufficient to differentiate between cantor/schola.

Also, I'm a firm believer in teaching your group both liturgically and utilitarianly. Teach them the importance of participating in the Sacred Liturgy, and where, but also teach them how. I believe that teaching them solfege is a great tool. It is very handy! It is also somewhat difficult for first timers, but it pays off in the long run. I've noticed that most of my inexperienced singers' major issue is simply keeping the syllables strait. This will get better over time. Then you will have the satisfaction of not only providing a greater service to the Liturgy, but to equipping people with a skill that they did not have before!

While I do agree with not falling into the Rossini trap, I do think that using it sparingly can help in the beginning if you are placed in a situation like I was and told to begin having Missa Cantatas EVERY Sunday when you start out. If that isn't your situation, then this may be a moot point. I also think that for organists that don't know how to harmonize a Gregorian melody, this may be more desirable, or just do what I do and sing everything acapella. ;)

Of course, if you can/want to do all of the full Propers with organ, you can always use the "Nova Organi Harmonia". It's a free resouce. I believe I pulled it off of ccwatershed.org.

SarahJ

ccwatershed.org is just amazing - I have used it for so many things.

Thank you all, this is extremely helpful!

StimsonInRehab

CGZ, I meant "Low Mass as a rule" figuratively - if, due to extenuating circumstances (e.g. priest not comfortable with his sung parts) Low Mass would be the only option for a period of time. I agree with you otherwise; ceteris paribus, mass should be Pontifically High.

Ben

Pontifically High

I had quite a different image in my head at first...

StimsonInRehab

I was gonna serve a clown mass - but then I got high.
I was gonna wear a mauve mitre - but then I got high.
No nobody thinks I'm charismatic, and I know whyyyy . . .
Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high.

SarahJ

Another question:
Any resources you recommend as far as learning to conduct chant?
I consider myself an organist first, then vocalist (sort of), and lastly a conductor. I have followed conducted chant before, not sure how I would do at recreating it.

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Sarah,

Although there are advanced conducting techniques, and, doubtless, advanced conducting training videos, your training as an organist and a vocalist should serve you well, at least at first. Don't overcomplicate things: show the choir where to put the accent, and think in terms of musical phrases.

MatthewRoth

Jeffrey Morse says to conduct the chant in a way so that the singers sing what you want them to sing (which is of course based on what the chant gives). While I don’t wish to overcomplicate this, suffice it to say that certain conducting techniques work well if and only if you interpret chant a particular way so it is far from the end of the world if you don’t use them.

Chris Garton-Zavesky

Sarah,

Let me phrase my advice in a different way: think like a singer, not like a music theoretician. (Yes, I'm a fan of music theory humor, but since your intended 'audience' is singers, and your intended goal is sung, thinking like a theoretician won't help get where you need to go.)

Cantus67

In a short time we'll have all of our propers for the year posted on our website. They are for all to use, creative commons, so practically copyright free. You can post them online as well. I'll make an announcement on the forum when that happens.
http://www.olmcfssp.org/cms/

In the meantime, here's the next few weeks of propers.

janetgorbitz

Although this probably isn't helpful for you right now, you may really enjoy attending a Colloquium (where we typically have chironomy breakout sessions) or a Chant Intensive in developing more confidence in chant directing next summer. I credit my first chant intensive attendance (with Scott Turkington teaching) with giving me the confidence to begin directing chant.

chonak

One caveat about the Chants abreges: they were produced in 1930, so in the few cases where propers were changed after 1930, the book is out of date. The Introit for Assumption is an example.

In those cases, you may like to refer to the 1955 book Graduels, Versets de L'Alleluia et Traits, which is available as a PDF download from the CMAA site's resource page. The musical settings in that book are mostly psalm-tone settings.

Richard Mix

What was the Assumption introit changed from?

chonak

Well, the Introit isn't an ideal example, since the Abreges only covers graduals, tracts, and alleluias. But the lineup had been

in the 1908 Gradual:
IN. Gaudeamus omnes in Domino
GR. Propter veritatem
AL. Assumpta est Maria
OF. Assumpta est Maria
CO. Optimam partem elegit sibi Maria

In the 1961 Gradual:
IN. Signum magnum
GR. Audi, filia
AL. Assumpta est Maria
OF: Inimicitias
CO. Beatam me dicent

So I should have cited the change in the Gradual (Propter veritatem -> Audi, filia) as relevant to the Chants abreges.

Richard Mix

Interesting; the neogregorian Signum magnum is optional in the OF. Here's a glimpse of the pretridentine Mass.

Arthur Connick

Here is a scan of the pre-1950 mass for Assumption from the Liber Usualis. The Ordo Cantus Missæ (Ordinary Form) indicates the pre- and post-1950 propers may be sung at mass apparently in any combination except for the Communion for which only Beátam me dicent (post-1950) is indicated. The older Communion, Optimam partem, is appointed to several other liturgical days, however.

latria

As for what to sing when, CMAA's Parish Book of Chant has a complete section on the sung ordinary, including all responses, for each the OF and EF Masses.

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