I noted elsewhere that the last two Sundays are the first I have missed playing/directing since 2007. I know the Easter Vigil is exhausting and I say every year I don't think I will do it again. But I actually am missing the lead up to it this year.

Strange for me as well. Though not because I'm not playing, singing, and directing, because I am. But I'm also setting up and operating all the A/V, lighting, and IT gear for live streaming. And trying to make the music as glorious as possible under all of the restrictions and guidelines we have to follow. I only get one cantor, so I'm trying to work in some nice two part music along with the chant. We're live streaming all three days of Tenebrae, Solemn High Mass for Holy Thursday, the Good Friday afternoon liturgy, the Vigil Mass, and Easter Sunday Solemn High Mass (schedule and info at http://materdeipa.com/streaming if anyone is interested). It's a new experience, and certainly interesting trying to juggle directing, singing, and "teching" at the same time. Every now and then I even get to pray! But I'm trying to remind myself what a privilege and grace it is to be able to be at Mass when so many cannot. Deo gratias!

La semaine sante sans la musique sent... étrange... la plus étrange qu'avons vécu...

Doing nothing for Holy Week is... weird to say the least. I have a sliver of hope that St. Robert might livestream Masses and invite the choir and schola, but I'm not hopeful.

A lot must depend on where one is. Oakland had their full-strength cathedral choir, while San Francisco is also lax about social distancing rules in effect but made do tonight with cantor & organ.

While Paris is in a Lockdown, that is far more strict than our fake lockdown in London, their Archbishop has more wisdom and presumably is happy with the following programme, at Saint-Eugène!

https://schola-sainte-cecile.com
and
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIz1_vK-gfwd26Q3cIvDxPg

They are still able to have Solemn High Mass, and for Holy Thursday they had Polyphony!

I am happily reading The Liturgical Year, Gueranger to my children and we are singing and reading parts of the various Liturgies. It is so nice not to be rushing around providing music and servers for the various Liturgies. It is a good change to have the time to pray, rather than spend all my time providing the framework so that others may be able to pray in a more fitting manner the greatest week of the Church's year. https://societyofstbede.wordpress.com/2020/04/10/holy-week-2020/

It is indeed bizarre that we are all watching our services on a computer screen rather than being in our beloved churches where we belong

The Ultimate (demonic) Simulacrum has descended upon us.

However, I must add that what has been in force from on high for decades has been the mass of the simulacrum. Now we are getting to the last chapters of the book.

I'm enjoying 'assisting' at the EF in Campos, which is unpretentious, in my time zone, and in a language I can understand (homilies, etc). I know some of the people there in person, too, which makes me feel at home, and I know their rhythm of speech and movement, so it's easy and non-distracting to follow. I'm really enjoying the much deeper attention to the prayers and readings I can give at home, in silence, than when singing in the loft or even kneeling in the pews. There are no distractions at this time of day at home. It's just a huge blessing to be able to pay that much attention.

I 'stripped my altar' last night as they did (I have a table with candles and so on for an oratory). And I'm really enjoying the Office during the Triduum - the starkness of the psalms alone is lovely.

I am quite aware of many people around me being quite miserable (neighbors, neighbors' kids, family members, more distant friends and acquaintances), so the darkness of this time is accentuated by their sorrows and fears, too. And very dark, drizzly weather adds to the atmosphere.

God bless you all.

The youtube channel is called "Rádio Gregoriana" and should be at this link:

Radio Gregoriana

That's the livestreams (and miscellaneous parish stuff, too) from the Matriz (cathedral?) in Campos, Brazil seat of the Personal Apostolic Administration of St. John Mary Vianney...

Nothing in English, but if you speak Italian or Spanish you might get the Portuguese.

I've discovered that I'm not a fan a live-streamed services, that is, not simply a regular liturgy (with the people---or even a Missa Privata) that happens to be broadcast, but a "TV Mass", particularly if the priest goes out of his way to talk to and 'involve' the TV audience with blah-blah.

Lots of blah-blah on Palm Sunday (also, he rushed through the dialogues so that the readers and myself couldn't respond: The Lord be with you. And wi...Lift up your hearts. We li...Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It i...It is truly right and just, &c.). Slightly less blah-blah on Holy Thursday (also, after talking with him, the dialogues were said normally).

Thankfully, because of the way the Good Friday liturgy is set up, there was no room for blah-blah. By far the most dignified so far.

It's only myself, the reader(s) and the celebrant. No servers. Which made tonight (Good Friday) awkward--particularly when the crucifix broke.

I have noticed, though, that of the OF Triduum services that I've seen, no one seems to be following the directives from Rome, i.e. keeping the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle, etc.

After setting up for the Vigil tonight, I discovered that we're going to have to re-use last years' paschal candle, because the person in the office who ordered the new one got the wrong size (much too big). Considering the bizarre way this Lent and Holy Week has gone so far, it only seems appropriate that anything that can go wrong will.

Many thanks for those links, Tomjaw. I was able to view several requiems for Louis XVI. An angst experience for an ardent royalist who on days he is not an ardent Anglophile is an ardent Francophile. Alas! At least the English repented of their regicide. The French have stubbornly refused to do so. (The irony, though, is that a Fifth Republic president is really a constitutional monarch who wields more power than any French king ever dreamed of!)

Jackson, will the Vigil be available "live"?

I see the Ordinariate's YouTube page is just short of 800 subscribers. If you get that up to 1000, you'll be able to start streaming video live on that site.

Walisngham's Easter vigil can now be seen at olwcatholic.org

I've been thinking as I watched all the Holy Week and Easter liturgies at Walsingham how fortunate we all are for, and what a debt of gratitude we owe to, all those who selflessly laid their lives on the line in spite of the Wuhan virus to perform, offer, and live-stream all the services for Holy Week and Easter for God our Father and for us.

As someone spoke about Paris, the Archbishop was granted a special authorization to get in Notre-Dame de Paris with an auxiliary bishop, the rector of the cathedral and three artists, violonist Renaud Capuçon and two of the best French theater actors, for a veneration of the Crown of Spines.

It was not properly speaking liturgical, but it was beautiful. The texts were taken from the finest French religious poetry (Francis Jammes, Paul Claudel, Marie Noël), and from Mother Teresa.

It was broadcast live on KTO (Paris diocese TV) and is still available there : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QjFAYgmvcI

We posted the veneration of the Crown of Thorns on Chant Cafe, and have been bringing other video events (live and recorded) to the attention of readers. Check out the site to see more.

It was a strange week but of one thing I am certain:

Christos Voskrese! Voistinu Voskrese!

Christ is risen. Indeed, He is risen!

Khristos Voskres'! Voistinu Voskres'!

Resurrexit sicut dixit! Alleluia!

Here's our Vigil Mass (EF): https://www.facebook.com/materdeipa/videos/562073904700762/

And Easter Morning Solemn High Mass (EF): https://www.facebook.com/materdeipa/videos/255273935604540/

We streamed all three days of Tenebrae, Holy Thursday evening Mass, and Good Friday afternoon liturgy as well.

It was interesting being the live stream & a/v "tech" and director/organist/cantor for all of this. Such multitasking led to a mistake or two (like supplying the Gloria intonation before Father had even incensed the altar at the Vigil!), but I think we managed some beautiful liturgies in the face of new circumstances, especially since we were blessed to have three seminarians present (all of whom are brothers of our chaplain, Fr. Eichman).

The Norbertine canons of St Michael's Abbey in Orange County will be streaming their Vespers Easter Sunday and for the octave at 330 pm PT (630 pm ET). Here is a Facebook event for it:
https://www.facebook.com/events/656075655192204/

UPDATE: The first video was shaky, but it was good to hear the chanted office, including a Magnificat with falsobordone verses, which I've never heard before from a 4-part men's choir:
https://www.facebook.com/ChurchInNeed/videos/160222558600444/

I also found it helpful not to look directly at the screen, but to have the screen off to the side a bit (at "10 o' clock"). The computer is not holy and it felt very weird kneeling facing the computer. I was much happier mostly listening and looking instead at my Missal or Crucifix, for instance, than staring at the screen. I think generally I'm really not at all happy with the livestream idea, and now that Holy Week is over I'll probably limit assisting to occasional feast days. It's nice to hear the homily and the music, yes, but it's also sort of deeply wrong in some way.

Oh, in Prague.

My pastor asked me to provide music for our Triduum, so my children and I did. We had a cameraman, assistant, server, pastor and associate pastor. I was still nervous, though less so because the church was empty, which was eerie. No babies, no coughing, no nothing. Somehow my pastor got the church bells to ring during the Eucharistic Prayer. It brought me to tears because I knew that people were watching and could hear the bells in the neighbourhood. I knew they wanted to be where I was.

Here are the links to our Masses. We only provided music for the Triduum and Easter Sunday. I felt incredibly blessed to be at Mass with my family for the Triduum.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIr4WQiDPuAHch8DLCxHUtA

Here was Easter chez moi:
https://youtu.be/8EkXcgHKBbU
I thought it went pretty well, and about as classy as we could manage with 4 people. Some kind of miking from the loft might have been nice. The Credo was not good (I need to stop to swallow, and the organ tends to go storming on), but Father was singing along, so it was inaudible anyway. I was just glad to be back at Mass, and singing.

I didn't mind not having to direct. Even though I missed the full choir and the adrenaline high of conducting energetic hymns and choral selections, I still found the whole situation much less stressful. So it was myself and our Cathedral organist. Livestreamed 12 Masses and 3 recorded Masses during Holy Week and a couple of days before. Honestly, my one gripe was that I must have been frazzled by the start of the Easter Vigil (Mass #13) and I started singing the deacon's part in the Exsultet. Of course, our rector and deacons all had a laugh about it after, because THEY knew what had happened. Now that that's done, I'm looking forward to working with my choir again. Soon. Happy Easter to all!