Stimson, how long did it take you to come up with such a clever title for your post? Thank you for such a great synopsis of this conference and perhaps some time I will be able to do this.

I think Stimson means for me to stop being a stick in the mud, not you Carol! :)

Stay tuned Catherine, as I will be covering a conference on the complete opposite end of the spectrum - as far as rehearsal is concerned.

And yes, naps are a good thing, and appropriately incorporated into the Divine Office (nota bene, Incardination.) I'm pretty sure we're all aware where "siesta" got its name. But let's not forget, as the great Daniel Bennett Page once pointed out, that all too obscure office of Prone.

Incardination may have called the "stick in the mud" in this case, but I have been (probably deservingly) called a "stick in the mud" more than once. Yes, attending an event such as this, is the "this" I meant. Once again, I am reminded of the need for precision in writing posts here, so as not to become the fodder for those who are even more "red-pen minded" than I. LOL

I find it too hard to sing in the key of Z. I prefer the key of R

Thanks so much for this write-up, Stimson! Sounds like it was a blast. I'd love to do these things, so if anyone's organising any in Asia... Looking forward to part 2!

I want to hear about the other, too!

Well folks, after enough liquid courage on my part, and having racked my brain for the finer points of distinction, I think I can safely commence with my summary of

PART TWO: THE SAINT MARY'S SSPX CONFERENCE

A Prologue of Sorts: If Incardination's retreat was fairly Spartan in character, the retreat that followed could best be described as Pythagorean - in that it truly baffled the mind. Part of this, surely, can be attributed to the 10-hour plus car ride from one retreat to another. My first impression of the retreat - and the traditional haven which housed it (St. Mary's, Kansas) was homing in on the signal of the college's radio station somewhere around 3 o'clock in the morning. Realizing that my methods of navigating the vast agricultural plateau in the middle of the night needed all the help it could get, I tuned into 98.3. Finding my way through a static-filled sermon delivered by a French-sounding prelate, the signal suddenly became clear for a performance of Mendelssohn's "Ave Maria". "Ahh," I assured myself, "all shall be well. Beauty shall be my beacon to truth and goodness." I finally arrived in pitch black and found my way to the room designated to me by the house father of the dormitory whence I was staying. Dragging my bare essentials, I scaled the steps through much construction (the college is growing, Deo gratias) and upon entering my room was greeted with two surprises -

1) A crusader's sword leaning against the window sill (which I didn't dare use, hence the subtitle of this chapter), and
2) AIR CONDITIONING. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I slept the Sleep of the Righteous before waking up to the chime of the chapel bell for the 7 am mass the next morning. I walked down two flights of stairs to the chapel below me (St. Mary's has their chapel in the first floor of one of the dormitories - more on that later) to attend the first Low Mass I've attended with more than a hundred people since I was a teacher in a Society School way back. Afterwards, following the directions of the house father, I made my way over to the school commissary and then to the auditorium, whence began the brilliance that is the Society Music Conference.

REPERTOIRE:
I must say - I was pleasantly surprised with the music chosen for this conference:

Nicholas Wilton, Missa Brevis
Josquin des Pres, Ave Maria Virgo Serena
Cardoso, Salve Regina
Durufle, Ubi Caritas (full version!)
Hassler, Dixit Maria

Part of me thought that there would be no way to sing all of the music - and we almost didn't - but lo and behold, all the pieces were covered and sung. Except for the Hassler . . . almost! Which, being dropped from the Mass due to time concerns, Yours Truly brought it up at the Conference's conclusion that we sing it as a sort of 'farewell anthem'. I mean, you can't sing TOO MUCH at a musician's conference, can you?

PROS
The youth of the organizers of this conference is inspiring. Miss Brittany Walter, chief conference organizer, is directrix of the childrens' choir at the parish, as well as a trained music teacher in the Feierabend Method - in addition to being a student at the college.

The original priest-organizer, the somewhat-recently-ordained Fr. Paul-Isaacs Franks, is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it this year since he is cycling across the United Kingdom in order to raise funds for his parish in Wichita. I do have fond memories of meeting this gentleman at ordinations a few years back, as he was playing guitar at one of many bonfires the evening after the ceremony. I suggested, somewhat facetiously, that he play "Eidelweiss", to which he consented - but not without coyly requesting that "word of this never makes it way back to 'Uncle Dick'!" In his place was another equally youthful priest, Fr. Patrick Rutledge, in his middle thirties and already head of the priory. It was Father who gave the opening discussion on the importance of music in the liturgy, as well as teaching the Gregorian Propers for the Mass. (His slight Georgia accent gave the proceedings, especially the plainchant, an air of Southern Gothic.)

The presenter on the use of organ at mass, Miss Elena Baquierzo, is one of the youngest students ever to attend Juilliard for organ study. She comes from a musical family - along with a few of her sisters in attendance, her brother is also organist and seminarian for the Society Seminary in Argentina. Her presentation was the most practical and informative of those presented over the week, especially on the subject of proper registrations for different parts of the Mass and other services.

Truth be told, there were young adults across the board attending as well, including a great deal of young married couples and some of the Franciscan sisters. Mealtimes and (Dr. Childs's favorite) cocktail hours were, after a few icebreakers, a fine scene for conviviality and conversation between attendees.

CONS

As this was the first conference of its type being put on by the Society, and as one of the original presenters had to drop out, there was unfortunately a lack of unity of vision, and this came out in quite a few of the presentations. One of the most prominent - and I find this to be a baffling example of cognitive dissonance amongst traditionalists in general - was the general aversion to anything of a French nature. Miss Baquierzo, for example, warned against choosing preludes or postludes of a French Romantic nature - then proceeded to play a piece by Cesar Franck. To say nothing of the fact that they forget from whence the founder of Society came!

But matters of disagreement came up even between the presenters. Another example. The main host of the week, Dr. Andrew Childs [Professor of Music at St. Mary's and a bit of a soi-desant "Golden Boy"] gave quite a few lectures, ranging in topic from the 'right' dynamics for a liturgical choir, resources for quality music, and proper vocal technique for singers. All very good presentations, with quite a smattering of good advice to be taken away. However, the last-mentioned talk mentioned how vocal coaches could come up with 'tricks' and helpful practices' that would aid in the production of sound. This was given before the by the director of music for the old Society seminary, Professor David Lee Echelard, a man who in my opinion, must've banked on getting his job because he was the spitting image of J.S. Bach. Even down to his hairstyling. I'm not joking.. He proceeded to demonstrate all of the little 'tricks' that Dr. Childs had argued against. (In honesty, Prof. Echelard's discussion was amusing for its relative incomprehensibility - lots of pops and whistles. While all of the conferences given this week had an air of haphazard, I can't in all truth remember anything of what Prof. Echelard had to say, except that he was enthusiastic. Which counts for something!)

And then - there's the eccentricities for which our beloved Society has become (in)famous for. There are Prof. Echelard's coiffures, as mentioned above. Then there's the anecdotal evidence. One young couple shared stories of how their loft had a stanchion and velvet rope placed to separate the women's sections from the men's sections - "because that's what Musica Sacra had legislated in 1958", according to their director. And then there was the aged usher who followed immediately upon our closing hymn for the Assumption with a shouted reminder that the room was to be cleared immediately in order to tear down the seats (mass being held in the gym due to the size - 4,000 congregants).

I have given up attending retreats since the distinction between a "retreat" and a "rout" is so slight as to often not be evident. Then there is the thought of exchanging interacting with one group of insufferable people I can't stand for another not any better. Hope this retreat was an exception.