Chant at NPM 2016
  • Ally
    Posts: 227
    Yes, it exists!

    A little summary of our work in Houston:

    -A GREGORIAN COMMUNION (antiphon only, it's a start!) will be sung at the large Thursday Mass with Cardinal DiNardo celebrating.

    -We used two of the Lumen Christi Simple Gradual chants at Mass this morning (EA and CA, plus hymns at E and C too). Thank you Adam!

    -Morning Prayer is sung each day, and it is actually the texts from Lauds (besides the hymns). Several of the psalms are chanted to Meinrad tones. Thurs Lauds (which I am in charge of) will use through-composed antiphons in English by Fr Columba and Aaron Williams.

    -We had a good turnout at the chant section interest meeting, with Lowell Davis, chair. (We couldn't have done this work here without him.We are finding more and more closet chanters here too!)

    -I'm co-presenting 3 sessions on the Chants of the Roman Missal (Celebrant, Deacon, Preface) with Fr Eurel Manzano (pastor at St Theresa in Sugar Land). We had 25 at our first breakout, including several priests.

    -I am also presenting a session on singing the Exsultet (but don't read the summary in the program, I didn't write that).

    -the off-site Masses during the convention schedule are at Annunciation (I am sure you have seen Felipe's post- thank you for hosting us!!)


    Now, I am very excited about all of this (which makes sense if you know me). If you have critiques of the liturgy, or how these things are being implemented here, or that you might have done it differently, I understand that. However, I have been serving on the liturgy committee all year, and gotten involved. I have to say there is much more openness to use of chant, and propers in particular. This is something we could keep up in Cincinnati next year. We might even try for a convention schola!

    It is important to get the "chant message" out there to this crowd too, and especially to do it in a positive and enthusiastic way ("look over here!!" rather than "over there is bad"). Many willing listeners...There are over 2000 people here, with a great group of chant enthusiasts!

    If you are reading this, and are here in Houston and I haven't met you yet, please send me a message! Or come to my next talk :) (shameless plug...)

    AMDG
    Alexis
    Thanked by 7M. Jackson Osborn Adam Wood chonak canadash Paul F. Ford BruceL CHGiffen
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,415
    This is very heartening news, Ally. I know that you must be thrilled at the response. As we all know, this could not have happened even five years ago. I'm very happy for you. Happy also for the Church and her worship. How long have we waited for the door to open! This is just the beginning.
    Godspeed!

    There was a convention organ crawl Monday morning. One of the stops (pun if you want it) was St Basil's Chapel, UST. There were around fifty or so 'crawlers'. I played some pieces based on chant for them and we sang the chants - to chant notation. All had a wonderful time. The pieces were Gerre Hancock's Divinum Mysterium, de Grigny's Ave maris stella, Ahrens' Puer natus est, and Langlais' Te Deum. They loved it.

    We should all sing a Te Deum!
    Thanked by 2Paul F. Ford CHGiffen
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700
    While it's true that a lot of chant at the liturgical events did not happen 5 years ago...

    5 years ago in Louisville was the NPM Convention that had, perhaps, the most widely attended pro-chant moment they've ever had in a Plenum Address by Dr. Paul Ford. Even though that was 5 years ago I can't get the picture of Dr. Ford jumping around the stage shouting with glee about the renewal of vernacular chant out of my mind.
    Thanked by 7Ben Kathy M. Jackson Osborn Paul F. Ford Aristotle Esguerra BruceL CHGiffen
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