hilluminar

Archbishop of Portland's Pastoral Letter on Sacred Music
From what I can tell from my position as an organist in Portland, the letter has made no difference at all. Everything is still up to the whim of the pastors of the churches. The thing that does make a difference is the more fervent, faithful youn…

Comment by hilluminar January 20 permalink
Walking the Baby and the Diddly Music
Where is this priest from? Was he originally from another Rite? In the Maronite Rite, after the baby is baptised, the priest carries the baby around the church. This is to let the baby know that this is his new home. He is now a part of the Chur…

Comment by hilluminar December 2025 permalink
The Hymnal Industrial Complex
Marc, you should be bothered. GIA's owner, Alec Harris does not share the same religion as the founder of Catholicism. Jesus, and the Church He founded, did not funnel money to a group who "directly funds pro-abortion initiatives and par…

Comment by hilluminar March 2025 permalink
The Hymnal Industrial Complex
The article is valuable in so far as people need to be informed; otherwise they won't act. But I am curious as to why you, Jeffrey Quick, bring E. Michael Jones into this discussion. What does Jones have to do with it? The article was writte…

Comment by hilluminar March 2025 permalink
Decree Prohibiting Certain Hymns and Listing Suggested Mass Settings
I was surprised at the lack of "Sing a New Church" by Delores Dufner OSB. That would be at the top of the list for me. We don't need a new Church. We must be faithful to the one that Jesus started. This piece is just so Communist.

Comment by hilluminar October 2024 permalink
Latin Mass Parts
I second MatthewRoth. De Angelis is not the best, nor the easiest. I recommend Mass X for a rather short, easy, lighthearted Mass that sounds delightful. The Kyrie is absolutely beautiful.

Comment by hilluminar April 2024 permalink
Just read the Gia Quarterly...ouch.
Yes. Talk about conning people! OCP has pulled another fast one. O My People by Dan Schutte is a very poor and distasteful word play on the original O My People (the Reproaches of Good Friday), which is still contained thankfully in the priest�…

Comment by hilluminar March 2024 permalink
"I hate incense" discussion
I have been told by a Maronite Abbot that if pure Frankincense is used, there are no allergic reactions, but it is spendy. It is the fillers that they put into the cheaper stuff that give people a reaction to incense.

Comment by hilluminar January 2024 permalink
Gregorian chant originates from ancient Jewish psalmody?
Of course Jesus chanted! The Rabbi Eugenio Zolli, the famous chief Rabbi of Rome and Catholic convert, says in his book, The Nazarene, that "One does not taste the beauty of the law unless the prescription of reading it with modulation (singing…

Comment by hilluminar December 2023 permalink
Must cantors be Catholic?
ServiamScores: Yes. The Order of Cantor is the first of the minor Orders among the Maronites, and only males can receive Holy Orders. However, the Maronites, like the Romans until Pope Francis's decree, get around this by temporarily deputizi…

Comment by hilluminar June 2023 permalink
Must cantors be Catholic?
In the Maronite rite the first Minor Order is that of Cantor. If the Romans did this also, it would solve the problem of the question posed above by M Jackson Osborne which is: " ...only a Catholic can read the Lectionary. Whether this applie…

Comment by hilluminar June 2023 permalink
Solos during Mass
Perhaps the more recent Fathers of the Church have something like what the Maronites do in mind: The faithful are always led by a cantor. They chant the Propers, which are hymns written by St. Ephrem or St. Jacob of Serug, to simple melodies in th…

Comment by hilluminar May 2023 permalink
Wedding bell blues !!
ServiamScores: The same thing happened to me. The Lebanese (Maronite) wedding started 45 minutes late because a stretch limo went around slowly from house to house that day picking up all the people who would be at the wedding. No one told me befo…

Comment by hilluminar May 2023 permalink
So many options...
It is pathetic and disheartening to learn that OCP was FORCED to cancel publication of BFW, and that the US Bishops Committee on the Liturgy "relented" finally, and allowed BFW to be printed. I understand that some of the melodies predate…

Comment by hilluminar March 2023 permalink
Looking for an organ accomp. for "In Splendoribus"
A good accompaniment for the antiphon can be found in the Pius X Hymnal. My copy is 1953, #182 "Proper for Midnight Mass" on page 222. This arrangement makes it sound rather majestic.

Comment by hilluminar November 2019 permalink
Musicians in the priesthood
MarkB, add one more to your purple list: ex-Father Owen Alstott OSB. And I can think of one who deserves to not be in purple: Fr. Samuel Weber OSB. He has done wonders with Roman Missal chants.

Comment by hilluminar November 2019 permalink
Seeking Wise Counsel - Where do we go from here?
I think the most important thing to do is to chant the Mass yourself. You will be leading by example. If you need to, take music/voice lessons; but if you can't do that, just chant everything on one note. It will convey that chanting is vita…

Comment by hilluminar July 2019 permalink
Ludu moj ludu - Looking for English translation
Sorry it took so long to get this to you, and sorry it is not a great copy, but here Ludu moj ludu in English.

Comment by hilluminar March 2019 permalink
Is Archbishop Sample's pastoral letter on sacred music dead on arrival?
Wow, a_f_Hawkins, you have been allowed to chant the Asperges monthly for years! God bless your priest. So many priests will never allow it.

Comment by hilluminar March 2019 permalink
Is Archbishop Sample's pastoral letter on sacred music dead on arrival?
a_f_Hawkins, I was just wondering where exactly does Abp. Sample say that "resources and catechesis for the propers will be provided to the parishes"? I have not run into this statement previously, and I am in his diocese. It would be wo…

Comment by hilluminar March 2019 permalink
Ludu moj ludu - Looking for English translation
I've got Ludu moj ludu in English I will try to get to you later. For now, the easiest version of the Reproaches out there is contained in the Lalemant Propers, available on the Corpus Christi Watershed website. It is all in mode II, and can …

Comment by hilluminar February 2019 permalink
His Holiness, Pope Francis, on Liturgy
BrotherMonk, if we are living in chapter 13 of the book of Revelation, who was that great Angel who appeared in chapter 10? How did we go through history totally missing him?

Comment by hilluminar February 2019 permalink
Hauptwerk Virtual Pipe Organs in churches?
Out here on the West Coast, Portland area, there are two parishes who exclusively use Hauptwerk. They are St. Wenceslaus in Scappoose Oregon, and Our Lady of Sorrows in Portland Oregon. You could talk to Robert Harker at St. Wenceslaus, or James …

Comment by hilluminar February 2019 permalink
The Four-Hymn Sandwich
I was just thinking that it might increase the faith of the people if they were allowed to chant the psalms to simple but beautiful melodies in their own languages. And the easiest way to do that is at Holy Mass. Outside of Holy Mass people tend t…

Comment by hilluminar December 2018 permalink
The Four-Hymn Sandwich
I wish to speak to the question CeceliaJulia posed earlier: "should we be trying to make the liturgy beautiful and majestic, and in that way allow God's presence to enter the hearts of the congregation, or should we focus on "encoura…

Comment by hilluminar December 2018 permalink
The Four-Hymn Sandwich
When is Archbishop Sample going to emphasize the chanting of the Propers? When, oh when, is he going to address this? That would do a lot to alleviate the problem of the 4 hymn sandwich. Unless the Propers emphasized are composed to more OCP driv…

Comment by hilluminar December 2018 permalink
Why does it seem like so many choir directors are so disgruntled?
I wonder if the liturgical reformers realized that they were "undoing" the choral Mass. In the OF, it works perfectly fine for a cantor to provide all the singing, if they are well trained, which in part means starting the faithful out in …

Comment by hilluminar September 2018 permalink
SIX NEW CHURCHES in 5 YEARS
Yes. We are waiting. Waiting... waiting. I don't hold my breath waiting for him to come out with a great announcement to all the clergy and parishes, like: "The Mass is to be chanted in this diocese. That is the norm. And I encourage …

Comment by hilluminar September 2018 permalink
Is the attendance at your service growing? If so, tell us what is working.
Instituted acolytes and instituted lectors. That is a terrifically good thing. I wish this practice were everywhere.

Comment by hilluminar September 2018 permalink
Traditional Latin Mass "solos"
Ubi Caritas is a very popular wedding chant; and in Poland, Veni Creator Spiritus is frequently chanted after the vows or at the Offertory.

Comment by hilluminar August 2018 permalink

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Username: hilluminar
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