Chant recordings for Children
  • JenniferGM
    Posts: 59
    I have been looking for some really good recordings of Gregorian chant for children. There seems to be so few that really demonstrate Basic chant done properly. I have the old records from the Pius X Manhattanville Choir and that to me is the ideal.

    What can I find that's current? The excerpts from Madeleine School and St. Theresa's school in Sugarland, TX are well done, but I need basic chant examples. I did see Gregorian Chant for Kids, but I don't think the quality of voice or rhythmic flow is right.

    It seems to me that recordings done by children aren't necessarily good examples to teach, especially if the children don't sing correctly. So if I can't find good children's recordings, what would be good recordings for children to have as examples? I'm all ears.

    Thanked by 1veromary
  • SamuelDorlaque
    Posts: 318
    Try just playing beautifully sung examples regardless of voicing. Michael Olbash has an excellent CD from the "Stepping Stone Project." There are some wonderful old recordings from Vienna with the Gentlemen of the Hofburgkapelle. The musicianship of these singers is exemplary. Let them absorb very fine examples of the chant, rather than trying to imitate. There are scores of seasonal recordings from the various choirs of Men and Boys, mainly from Great Britain. Oftentimes you will find a few fine chants along with the polyphonic pieces. Westminster Abbey with James O'Donnell and their good friends Westminster Cathedral with Martin Baker have many CDs with truly fine examples of chant. I've never found a disappointing CD from either. Also, close to CMAA, Matt Curtis's recordings are unrivalled for purity of diction and sheer musicality.
  • Musicteacher56
    Posts: 621
    I have used the Gregorian Chant for kids to start my children's choir listening to the chants, but do not use them to rehearse. I agree that some of the phrasing is off, but I also change phrasing at times for breath control on younger students. It's been my experience that introducing chant to children should be done by children, especially in today's mentality that chant is "old fashioned and fuddy duddy". If the kids hear other kids, they are more apt to be interested. But, that's just my humble opinion on the subject. Good luck. There is nothing sweeter than the voices of our children praising God through chant.
  • JulieCollJulieColl
    Posts: 2,465
    Don't know if this will help, but our family has been listening to the original recording of The Liturgical Year by the Schola Bellarmina of Belgium for several years now.

    We sing the full propers every Sunday at our Latin Mass, and it's obviously very helpful to listen to the chants the week before. I have them in the background when I drive, and I honestly don't know how I'd get through the week without them! Such serenity and spiritual power in these recordings. : )

    Schola Bellarmina is a small men's schola, and made these CD's available to help other scholas learn to sing the propers according to the Graduale Romanum. They are lightly accompanied on the organ by exquisite and inobtrusive chord progressions although they always sing the Gradual and many times, the Offertory, without accompaniment. (It's just my own uneducated opinion, of course, but I think the light accompaniment actually helps make the melody line more accessible and perhaps this approach is good for people or children who are just beginning to immerse themselves in chant.)

    As far as I can tell, their technique is exemplary and they articulate the neums with precision, but their focus is on interpreting the text musically which they do with great sensitivity and finesse. There's always some new spiritual insight to discover in these recordings even though we've been listening to them for a long time.

    Another plus is the baroque organ interludes between each Sunday. These are truly splendid, mostly Froberger and Frescobaldi on what must be a baroque organ from the sounds of it.

    Introits from Ascension to Pentecost can be heard link text "> here if you scroll down on the page.
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