I was looking for a simple cd that contained the chant propers for all 4 Sundays of Advent. Solesmes has a collection of their older recordings that fits the bill, http://www.solesmes.com/GB/editions/disques.php?cmY9MzQ4 but Paraclete Press will not be carrying it this Advent.
Has anyone ordered from Solesmes or another place to get Solesmes besides Paraclete? Is it difficult for exchange? Costly? shipping take too long?
Thanks for any help! As I don't read French, I'm a bit slow to pull the trigger.
If you don't mind purchasing from the SSPX, their Schola Bellarimina from Belgium has an Advent only CD available which is part of their series of CDs of the Propers and Ordinary of the Mass for the liturgical year. The Schola Bellarimina is adult male voices only (Pope St. Pius X's musical legislation requires that male voices be preferred in the singing of the Propers of the Mass) with organ accompaniment. This is the most beautiful setting of the Propers and Ordinary because I find a capella chant very boring and most singers can not stay on pitch without the organ. You would be ordering through the Angelus Press in Kansas City MO area which is the publishing arm of the SSPX in the USA. The list price is $42.50. See: http://angeluspress.org/Audio-Video/chant/Chant-CD-Vol-1-Advent
Pardon me, johndhorton, for seeking some further clarification. Do I understand correctly that you are recommending that Musica Sacra Forum contributors and readers, rather than purchasing the above-referenced Solesmes recording, instead support the schismatic SSPX by purchasing for $42.50 plus shipping and handling a 2-CD set of Advent season "propers and ordinary" (?) which you personally consider to be the "most beautiful setting" because the chants on said CD's are not sung a cappella, a form of performance which you consider to be boring? And since, in your opinion, "most singers can not stay on pitch without the organ," do you know if the "Schola Bellarimina" [sic], which performs on the Angelus Press CD's, is able to stay on pitch without the organ?
Be not confused. The ad copy, I'm sure, was posted on the internet before Bishop Fellay publicly thanked God in Kansas City for preserving the SSPX from full communion with said Roman Catholic Church.
Hey, I am eastern Christian. There have been times we were Orthodox, and times we were Catholic. There have been times I wish we were more Orthodox. LOL. It isn't a perfect world or church. Today's schism is tomorrow's reunion.
Yes... we should pray for our brethren to return to regularized status, and support good music projects. Or am I a bad person for supporting the Anglicans and buying their CDs?
I think Solesmes was duped and now stuck with a contract.
I don't like to support SSPX, and perhaps I am too scrupulous. But this is a current schism in the making, so my money goes to support that cause, which I don't agree. I am praying for a return, not a complete break.
Anglican break is centuries' old and so spread it, so it's quite different in my mind.
I think we have a commandment against making baseless accusations.
Solesmes has had the same distributor for about 30 years, so I doubt they're locked in by a contract. And, yes, for the sake of full disclosure, Paraclete started selling CMAA books this year, so we do have a business relationship with them.
As for the SSPX, the Church hasn't formally declared them schismatic yet -- though the de facto condition has been there a long time.
Yes, just speculating. Sorry. I wonder if there was a language problem originally.
I said "schism in the making" which doesn't mean I've declared it so. But because many of the sacraments have been declared either illicit or invalid it's a lot of indication of going down that path.
I wonder if Solesmes made a deal with a non-Catholic distributor because nobody else in the US was interested in doing it in the 1970s (or whenever they made the deal).
To participate in the discussions on Catholic church music, sign in or register as a forum member, The forum is a project of the Church Music Association of America.