Doing a chant lecture series at my parish
  • Dan McGarveyDan McGarvey
    Posts: 59
    When I started here, my pastor and I both wanted to find ways to get more chant in the Mass. Our answer was to do a Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei during Advent and Lent, and it was....well, it was. We could have done better. My cantors were frustrated, our congregation was confused. I've had the Summer to evaluate and learn (no small thanks to the Chant Intensive at Duq), and I'm moving forward in what I hope are smarter ways. For starters, I'm going to personally begin more direct interactions with the parish with why this is a good idea, starting with this article on our brand new parish blog.

    Now that I know that I want to more directly engage the parish, I just need to figure out how.

    My initial idea is to do a Monday evening lecture series here at the parish. I pitched the iea to our pastor, who is spportive, but wants me to have a clearer idea of the presentation format. A lesson plan, basically.

    Who here has done something similar? Or better yet, if you haen't some this but have always wanted to, how would you go about it? (Ours is an OCP parish, but I haven't heard too much kicking and screaming as I start to slowly phase that stuff out.) I have some idea about publicity; I'm thinking more in terms of content.

    Thanks, all. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, suggestions, encouragement, etc.

    Cheers,
    Dan
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Since this is a long-term plan, PLEASE find a way to go around to Sunday school classes and introduce chants in a fun way (method changing for each age group of course). This will be your foundation. The current adults, both congregation and cantors are a much harder nut to crack. There are some church musicians who will not buy into it, no matter what you do. Be ready and prepared to move on without them.
  • Dan McGarveyDan McGarvey
    Posts: 59
    To ask me to find a way to teach chant to kids in a fun way implies that no one has yet been successful at doing so. Man, that's a lot of pressure. :)
  • Maureen
    Posts: 675
    Kids of Sunday school age love the idea of foreign languages, secret codes, etc. They love to memorize things, because little kids' brains are like sponges for that. I don't think you'd have much trouble teaching them. Older kids are more like, "Meh, why should we learn this?" But in general, most kids wouldn't have any problem with it; they'll just want to grumble first. Don't be surprised if somebody mentions hearing this first in a videogame, a pop song, or a cartoon show.

    Adults... well, it's not a bad idea to talk about early Christianity, or the ties between east and west. But don't forget the basics, like what the words mean. Adult Catholics have gotten some very spotty teaching, and there's no telling who knows it and who doesn't. Cover what the words are and what they mean.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    If you have the support of your pastor, you should be good to go. He can encourage people to attend your lessons. The biggest problem that we've faced is the problem of getting Catholics to come to anything beyond 1 hour per week at Mass.
  • pipesnposaune
    Posts: 113
    We just started this at our parish. Mini classes for six weeks to cover the basics. Others here recommended having a sung goal such as Vespers.
  • Dan McGarveyDan McGarvey
    Posts: 59
    Jeff, we're somewhat fortunate to have an active parish. We do have our share of people who don't feel the need to go beyond their "Sunday obligation," but we do events all the time and generally have respectable turnouts. If we plug this the way we normally plug our programs and educational series I think we'll get our share of chant geeks, curious folks, maybe a heckler or two...

    Pipes, care to trade ideas for content? That's actually the whole reason I started this discussion. I've got some ideas for presentation, but as always, I benefit greatly to hear what other are/would be doing in their own programs.

    Cheers,
    Dan
  • pipesnposaune
    Posts: 113
    Dan- Sorry to be late in this response. We were using the PBC for the basics and our own CMAA treasurer was giving some wonderful history lessons........However- Father roped us into singing EF Vespers in August, so it has evolved into a rehearsal! Having a goal has been rewarding. My best, and do share any ideas you may have!
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