Dedication of a Church Already In Use
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    St. John Neumann Catholic Chruch, Knoxville, TN
    1:00 July 12, 2009

    7 weeks ago the dedication date was changed from this October to now. Mass has been celebrated since Christmas 2008.

    It is...interesting...to do a dedication when many of the choir are already committed elsewhere, long planned summer travel and a wedding...
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    Wow. The list is amazing. How long you'v been practicing? And how many people in the choir? Do they all sing the chants and polyphonies?
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    I was hired 3 years ago and knew from then that we had a dedication coming at some future date. The choir, originally 16 members now number 40+, many from other parishes. We will have 36 for the dedication.

    They all sing everything, with small groups doing verses on the chants.
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    Sounds wonderful. It's this Sunday. They must looking forward to it. Hope you have the most beautiful dedication Mass, and thank you for your hard work.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    The choir is going through a 'storm' period as happens periodically, so looking forward to it also means getting through it and having time off to let tempers cool.

    A large choir is an unruly beast, and choir lofts should have signs posted at the doors warning, Beyond Here There Be Dragons.

    Your thanks of appreciated. Before anyone gets the idea that this is a dreamworld situation, it is not. This is a program you could do at your church with no budget for music and all kinds of obstacles. You have to set goals and keep your eye on the goal no matter what. Much of this music was started one year, dropped, and returned to a year later after I used other music to get them to the point of being able to sing at a higher level.

    Knowing that, through this group's resources and discussions, I could attempt to sing from the Graduale Romanum, or the SImplex. The American Gradual or By Flowing Waters really helped pull this together. And I did have to move through these steps settling here because of the level of the groups ability at the time.

    If the program continues after the dedication, we would begin a study of solfege, focusing on the basic elements of chant and improving the ability to singing downward intervals AND the ability to sing Bnatural and Bflat. These are the focus of two training manuals I am creating right now to publish in addition to my little chant book at www.basicchant.com (sales have improved since the review was posted to the AGO magazine - who knew so many AGO organists are interested in chant!)
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    I must add that the planning and this program was made possible through the kindness and assistance of group members, especially Paul Ford and Dr. Bruce Ford.
  • G
    Posts: 1,397
    Looks truly wonderful (typo- Farrant, I believe.)

    God bless you and grant you continued success.
    Sorry about the "storms".
    I wonder if a spray bottle with vinegar would work as well on sopranos and it does on unruly springer spaniels...

    (Save the Liturgy, Save the World)
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,605
    Lost my best proof reader when they banned Latin from the Mass last October....
  • marymezzomarymezzo
    Posts: 236
    That's true. But your former proofer is delighted that Latin has been sneaking back in at her former parish. Will wonders never cease?
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