Thursday's Mass included Palestrina's Missa Brevis and, though I do not lean towards this sort of interpretation of music usually, the Sanctus was full of descending scales...and the Benedictus full of ascending scales, like steps to heaven, I thought. (and, as I said, I usually do not think this way.) But when the Hosanna was even more stately with descending scales like voices from heaven, I could only think that the Sanctus must represent Our Lord coming down to heaven to us and being present, and us being carried upward as a result of this.

Who was conducting? Which chorus was it? I have to look for it appears that all conductors are doing their best to get everyone singing at the top of their levels and it's like a real long tennis match with people who are totally unable to miss a serve....we've all got our ears pealed to hear what comes next. This one turns out to have been conducted by Kurt Poterack. It gets confusing because Jeff Ostrowski led his chant group through the Gradual from the back of the church in a spine-tingling Gradual, Scott Turkington led the beginning group through the Alleluia...and I had to double check because they did not sound like beginners after just a few days of rehearsals, and the Introit was chanted by intermediate women shepherded by Arlene Oost-Zinner...and they too, sounded advanced.

Based on that I thought we were through it all and then what is listed as (Horst Bushholz's polyphonic choir) met and maybe exceeded the challenge with Elizabeth Zachariae by Francisco Guerrero.

Everyone here sings in a chant group and a polyphonic group, often both during a Mass, and with different conductors. There's a bit of milling around to get with your group, but it is worth it.