What news from the colloquium?
  • Darcy
    Posts: 73
    For those of us there in spirit... any news how it's going so far?
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    Well, hardly anyone is saying anything because everyone is so busy! It has been just incredible with 250 people and everyone happy and learning and having fun. Mass this morning was surely the most beautiful English Mass I've every seen.

    Here is one blog post I just read.

    I do feel oddly speechless!
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Continued prayers for all of you out there.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,848
    We are Holy Jealous.
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 994
    I second Francis' comment.
  • Darcy
    Posts: 73
    I hope the videographer worked out. When I heard Corpus Christi Watershed was doing it, I was thrilled.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    yes, they have an entire crew here.
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    I don't know if it's that we've all been so busy, or that I've been doing a little local gastronomy (right after chironomy) instead of having dinner in the dining hall, but I haven't met too many of my fellow forumites yet. Maybe we need to schedule a social event. Or maybe a little Ostrowski brothers vs. Olbash brothers in some sort of head-to-head competition?
  • OlbashOlbash
    Posts: 314
    Yes, yes, oh venerable Incantu, splendid idea! Right after we hijack Jeffrey in some darkened alley and flog him with our copies of the Graduale Triplex. (Gently, of course.)

    The colloquium has been a beautiful experience, on every level. The Mass this morning moved just about everyone I've talked to -- for me, it was listening to the Byrd Ave Verum being sung as I received communion. There are enough people here that not *everyone* sings *everything* -- it allows occasions like that to just sit in the pew and worship, and that is an all-too-rare experience. Studying Guerrero and Morales with Wilko Brouwers has, for me, been very satisfying. The food and dormitories are quite a few steps up from the Catholic University experience in D.C., though I had to affix black garbage bags to my windows to repel the unwanted intrusion of the sunrise at 5:00 in the morning. (Darn that life-giving orb.) The bed is comfy, just as advertised! I got a room with two beds, so I stacked one on top of the other for extra comfort. Hey, it ain't the Ritz, but for something like 40 bucks a night in Chicago, it's a palace!
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Live, from the colloquium...

    I echo the sentiments of others. This is my second time and I feel much more at home this time around. Of course the experience would be better with Charles and Mary Jane here, but I refer you to a famous Rolling Stones song (with boys choir). Seriously, I've really enjoyed the variety this year. It's not just endless polyphony rehearsals, but rather classes in chironomy (sung to the tune of Blue Oyster Cult's "Astronomy") and the academic presentations. I'm still sorting out Fr Skeris's rhetoric in my mind, but it was a great intellectual ride! I also have to say "thumbs up" to the smaller polyphonic choirs. They are still a bit large, but much better than 200 people singing a 4-part motet. Kudos to Jeffery for steering the ship this week and prayers go out to Arlene and her family. We miss you AOZ!

    Off to bed now, morning prayer is in the morning for some reason..
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    I have a Triplex too now! So I'm joining the chant-jock generation, even though I'm too old.
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    Intensity...

    I last attended this event in 2005, so the sheer numbers have been overwhelming, to say the least - I believe the number of attendees has quadrupled that of 2005. It's been wonderful not only to see people I met in 2005, but also to associate faces (and voices!) with names (real and concocted) seen in my comment box, on this forum and on the Catholic blogosphere. It's almost like a reunion even though I'm meeting people in person for the first time.

    Fr. Pasley (Mater Ecclesiae, NJ) celebrated the versus populum English chant Mass on Tuesday; Fr. Johansen (Kalamazoo, MI & the Thrown Back blog) celebrated yesterday morning's Requiem Mass ad orientem. In the coming days I'll try to capture and post some audio recordings and photos.

    MeeAe Cecilia Nam's 2-session seminar on corrective vocal technique has been immensely helpful and informative for me, as have been Wilko Brouwers' polyphony sessions.

    (Olbash: tap me on the shoulder tomorrow; I'm the one with the 'close shave'. If it means anything, I've got both the Graduale Triplex and Offertoriale Triplex, and I know how to wield them somewhat.)
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 994
    Anyone armed with the Offertoriale Triplex is dangerous indeed. Michael - do you always travel with garbage bags? Just in case?
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Mike, you are too sweet! But's it's nice to know the tenors are functioning quite well without me! ;-)
    Your Rolling Stones reference was too cool; reminded of that funky funeral scene in "The Big Chill" when JoBeth Williams sits down at the console and out comes THAT song for the recessional!
    Is MaryAnn there? If yes, I need you to do me a favor, seriously.....ready?
    When you're out taking your walk and should you happen upon a reasonably supplied greengrocers or purveyor of spirits, could you obtain a couple of bottles of a decent California Cabernet Sauvignon, maybe from the California Central Coast, and present one to MaryAnn and the other to Arlene OZ for me with my compliments? I will gladly pay you Tuesday for such favor today!
    I yam what I yam. (I will pay you back immediately!)
    C
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    Wow! My former boss offered Mass ad orientem?! This I have to see! I told you guys he's a great priest!
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    MJ,

    Garbage bags? Over my head.
  • kelly
    Posts: 8
    Jeffrey Tucker - speechless? I don't believe that for one second!

    Today was quite moving, we had the extraordinary form mass this morning and a holy hour of eucharistic adoration this evening. I found it absolutely heart rending (in a good way) to recite the Litany of Loreto. Instead of just watching it on EWTN, I was there, chanting "ora pro nobis." That's just not something that's available in the Boston area. That was worth the price of admission. The program for the whole hour was lovely.

    It's really a two-fer colloquium: highest quality music lessons and powerful devotions/worship. We're madly blessed.
  • Mark M.Mark M.
    Posts: 632
    Welcome to the forum, Kelly. (Nice blog, too!)
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    Yes, the Holy Hour was the great surprise of the week. It was organized by one person: Jenny Donnelson. She also conducted the music and recruited the singers. We said the older form from the Liber U with the full litany. the silence was a form of music in itself. If you closed your eyes, and listened to the tiny sounds of movement in the chapel, they took on imaginary shapes in your mind. Time stopped. Then the music emerge from the silence and improved it and you felt like you were flying. We sang Te Deum, and for the first time, it seemed like Te Deum was too short. The experience was completely mystifying and other worldly. David Hughes played Messiaen, a piece composed in the 1930s played in this chapel from the same period. It was perfect. Just incredible.
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    Yes, both Messiaen pieces were exquisite. I had the honor of singing in the choir for the Holy Hour. It was wonderful to sing Byrd's O Salutaris and Palestrina's Tantum ergo, but what I noticed most was the light shining in through the stained glass at an angle in the church. The fall-like weather, the music, the light and of course the Blessed Sacrament put me back in touch with something that had gone missing for a long time. Only now I realize that it was gone. This has been a blessed experience.

    BTW Jenny is coming to Florida in the Fall. Nebraska's loss is our gain!
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    It would be impossible to comment on everything but I must say a few words about Wilko's choir and the Ave Maria by Guerrero. this is going in our repertory immediately. It was beyond belief. By the way, nearly every piece sung here could have rivaled any recording I've heard.
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    Oooh ooh, I want to see the Offertoriale Triplex, too!
  • Randolph Nichols
    Posts: 398
    For the curious eavesdropping from afar, which Messiaen pieces did David play?
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 994
    Not you, Michael O'Connor. I was addressing Michael Olbash, well-known musician and bon vivant.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    Oh I've lost my program amidst the 1000s of things I'm carrying around. anyone?
  • kelly
    Posts: 8
    According to the program, the first organ piece, the prelude, was Le banquet celeste.
    The recessional was Three Versets on Pange Lingua from Premier livre d'orgue, Nicolas de Grigny).

    Jeffrey, how about a program for the different masses too, next year?

    And rosary in chant too, that would be very cool. Is that done? The Madonna della Strada chapel has a fantastic location (right on Lake Michigan), and I can picture a group of us saying the rosary outside the chapel as the moon rises.
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    The processional was Adoro te from Livre du Saint Sacrement (Messiaen)

    Vespers tonight. Turns out it will be pontifical -- sort of.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    a program for each Mass would be nice but it creates a fantastic amount of paper, and the cost high in terms of time and money. It's a wonderful idea but it's also important to remember that the CMAA has no staff.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    So, in case you haven't heard, the Vespers service was....astounding. Mahrt's choir did an amazing job with 3 days rehearsal. The Bishop was great. the whole evening was beyond words, which is one reason there are so few words on this thread.

    still more to go...
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Jeffrey, this is off topic, but I wanted to express my sincere appreciation for your column in the current issue (Summer 08) of "Sacred Music." Much to ponder and share. Excellent and balanced perspectives for all interested.
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    The CMAA Colloquium Facebook group has just been created.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    If you didn't come to the colloquium, you didn't get one of these!

    image
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 994
    I treasure my "Grace Before Meals" cocktail napkin from the Chant Intensive. I assume I only need use it when there are "heavy hors d'oeuvres."
  • Cathy Dawson
    Posts: 5
    Aristotle,

    Thanks for posting the photos on facebook. My daughter, Samantha, is there and it's good to have a chance to see her.
    Enjoy the Colloquium.

    Cathy
  • dad29
    Posts: 2,232
    More reaction:

    http://dad29.blogspot.com/2008/06/era-passes-in-church-music.html
  • MaryAnn Carr WilsonMaryAnn Carr Wilson
    Posts: 1,738
    Ah, how I missed the Colloquium and can't wait to get lots of scoop on how amazing it was! My sights are set on next year- hopefully the Chant Intensive, too! Hats off to you, Jeffrey, and all those who assuredly ran circles all week to keep things running smoothly.

    Personally, I love the napkins. Making chant a part of everyday routine, you could say.

    CHARLES in Central CA- I'll take that bottle o' wine any time! I wasn't there because I am... rotund... with child, expecting our third boy, William Blaise, any day. Please pray for a safe delivery and I'll keep you posted- I think I have your email from last year.
  • G
    Posts: 1,401
    I have to apologize for marring those silences during Holy Hour, cossetting a blister on my foot, I wore flip-flops.
    Need I add that perhaps never before in my church-going experience would such a tiny noise have been noticed?
    The Holy Hour, the Office Hours, the Masses, both Ordinary and Extraordinary were nonetheless ALL extraordinary.

    It is hard to choose, but I think the single most marvelous aspect of the Colloquium was the mountain of clear evidence that despite the sheer gorgeousness of the liturgies, what we are about is a THEOLOGICAL "movement," not an aesthetic one.

    Save the Liturgy, Save the World!
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    For you, mum, and your wee lad on the way from St. Brigid:

    I should like a great lake of ale for the King of kings.
    I should like a table of the choicest food for the family of heaven.
    Let the ale be made of the fruits of faith and the food be forgiving love.

    I should welcome the poor to my feast, for they are God's children.
    I should welcome the sick to my feast, for they God's joy.
    Let the poor sit with Jesus at the highest place and the sick dance with angels.

    God bless the poor, God bless the sick, and bless our human race.
    God bless our food, God bless our drink, all homes, dear God, embrace.

    Sit tight, Wm. Blaise, it gets even better!

    MaryAnn, when the laddie's weaned, I'll fly down to San Diego with Opus One for ye.
  • Michael O'Connor
    Posts: 1,637
    The colloquium was good enough to make me not be too annoyed by my flight delay... Originally 2:25, now 4:10. I guess I'd prefer not to fly through the 70 mph winds in Virginia.
  • BeckyOstermann
    Posts: 5
    Does anyone who sang with Wilko Brouwers' wonderful choir have a copy of the odd-numbered verses for the Urbs Beata Jerusalem that were sung (the verses that aren't in the Colloquium repertoire book)? I would dearly love to have a copy and was unable to obtain one at the Colloquium... If someone would be so gracious as to mail a copy to me, I would be very grateful. My address is N2757 Townline Rd., Coleman, WI 54112. Or perhaps it would be possible to scan the sheet and email it to me at weedy.garden@hotmail.com. Thank you very much!!
  • OlbashOlbash
    Posts: 314
    A huge thank you to all of the clergy and seminarians who made the ceremonial of every liturgy so breathtakingly exquisite. We were blessed by your presence and generosity of time and spirit!
  • G
    Posts: 1,401
    "A huge thank you to all of the clergy and seminarians who made the ceremonial of every liturgy so breathtakingly exquisite. We were blessed by your presence and generosity of time and spirit!"

    Gratefully seconded. I am particularly thankful for the work done by Fr Haynes, whom I will from now on think of as the Guido Marini of the Western Hemisphere.

    (Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    @BeckyOstermann: I may be able to put that into a PDF file for those interested.

    Also for those interested, I just got back home. The winged aluminum can in which I was seated was grounded on the tarmac for 2 1/2 hours; I may as well have spent an extra day...
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    Audio file!

    Tu Es Petrus, directed by Horst Buchholz
  • kelly
    Posts: 8
    Does anyone have an audio file of the psalmody from the Morning Prayer? I would gladly sing that every morning for the rest of my life ("For thee my soul has thirsted..."). (Need a reminder of intonation and rhythm.)

    Amazing week, incredibly well planned out and executed. Many thanks to Jeffrey, Arlene and everyone else who planned, taught, cantored, conducted, and celebrated and assisted at the masses. Achingly beautiful music all week long. I found it to be a heart-opening week, with God's graces coming at us from all sides.
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    While catching up on my feed reading, I came across this live blog: Back Bench Bass
  • Aristotle EsguerraAristotle Esguerra
    Posts: 1,186
    Another blog - Subimonk: Rev. Gregory A. Pilcher, OSB
    And here is the public URL for the Colloquium XVIII Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group?gid=16142989157
  • BeckyOstermann
    Posts: 5
    Aristotle, if you would be able to do a PDF that would be awesome. But I'd be glad to receive it is any form if that doesn't work out. I intend to actually use Urbs Beata Jerusalem with my choir this summer, so your efforts would not be wasted. Thank you so much!
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    Here is a tribute to the conductors, which doesn't do them justice but it is a start.
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    Nice image by Jeffrey Ostrowski

    image
  • Carl DCarl D
    Posts: 992
    Does anybody have the listing of the various organ preludes and recessionals from last week?

    Thanks-
    Carl
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