The Magnificat Pilgrimage of Hope will be held in Boston the weekend of October 11-12, 2008, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. (Find out more at http://www.magnificat.com/english/boston/index.asp)

As the pilgrimage music director, I am so excted to share with you some of the beautiful music planned for the weekend. There will be a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mother, including chants by the Schola Amicorum and polyphony by the Gasparian Chorale. A multi-media concert/lecture event entitled "Magnificat Through the Ages" will feature two of Boston's premiere sacred choirs (Seraphim SIngers and Musica Sacra) culminating with a performance of the Bach Magnificat with combined choirs and orchestra. The pilgrimage concludes with a solemn Mass, in thanksgiving for the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Archdiocese of Boston by a bishop from Bordeaux, France. The Mass will be concelebrated by the Cardinals of both Archdioceses, with music led by the Beacon Brass, the Seraphim Singers, and the Stepping Stone Chant Project. (Partial music lists for the two major liturgies and the concert are at the conclusion of this post.)

Prayer at morning and evening will include the singing of hymns and chanting of psalms and canticles, and lectures and presentations throughout the weekend will be given by some of the most knowledgeable and inspiring speakers in the Church today. Musical offerings throughout the weekend will also include a mini-concerts by the Boston Boy Choir (from the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School) and the Beacon Brass, as well as organ recitals by Mark Husey, Frederick MacArthur, John Dunn, and Heinrich Christensen. Music selections include chant & polyphony, lots of twentieth-century French organ repertoire, music in honor of the Blessed Mother, and music by Boston-area composers such as James Woodman, Charles Callahan, Everett Titcomb, and most especially lots of music by Theodore Marier, the founder of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School, a longtime professor of music at Catholic University of America, a lifelong proponent of the Ward Method, and a legend in the history of the CMAA.

This will be an inspiring event for any musician serving the church. If you're interested in going, please talk to me at the Colloquium -- if we can get a group of 10 or more, we can take advantage of the group rate.

Yours in Christ,
Michael Olbash

(Here's the music list.)

Mass in honor of Mary, Mother of Divine Hope
Celebrant: Most Rev. Richard G. Lennon, Bishop of Cleveland
Introit: “Salve, sancta Parens” (Gregorian Chant)
Hymn: “Sing of Mary, Pure and Lowly”
Kyrie: “Missa cum Jubilo” (Gregorian Chant)
Offertory Chant: “Ave Maria, gratia plena” (Gregorian Chant)
Offertory Motet: “Hymne à la Vierge” (Villette)
Sanctus: “Missa cum Jubilo” (Gregorian Chant)
Agnus Dei: “Missa cum Jubilo” (Gregorian Chant)
Communion Chant: “Beata viscera” (Gregorian Chant)
Communion Motet: “Magnificat” (Marier)
Hymn: “Immaculate Mary”

Concert: Magnificat through the Ages
"Magnificat" (Gregorian Chant)
sung in alternatim with
"Versets sur les Vêpres de la Vierge" (Dupré)
"Magnificat" from the Third Service (Byrd)
"Deutsches Magnificat" (Schütz)
"Magnificat" (Pärt)
"Magnificat a 4 voci" (Monteverdi)
"Magnificat" (Walmisley)
"Magnificat in D" (J. S. Bach)

Solemn Closing Mass
Celebrants: Seán Cardinal O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Boston, and Jean-Pierre Cardinal Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux, France
Introit: “Si iniquitates” (Gregorian Chant)
Entrance Procession: “Solemn Entry” (Strauss)
Hymn: “Lift High the Cross”
Kyrie: “Missa Orbis Factor” (Gregorian Chant)
Gloria: “Glory to God in the Highest” (Marier)
Profession of Faith: (Marier)
Offertory Motet: “Ave Maris Stella” (Woodman)
Sanctus: “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Marier)
Agnus Dei: “Solemn Mass” (Vierne)
Communion Chant: “Aufer a me” (Gregorian Chant)
Communion Hymn: “Where Abideth Charity and Love” (Marier)
Communion Motet: “Ubi Caritas” (Duruflé)
Hymn: “Hail, Holy Queen”