“Is it not true that prohibiting or suspecting the extraordinary form can only be inspired by the demon who desires our suffocation and spiritual death?” —The Vatican’s chief liturgist from 2014-2021; interview with Edw. Pentin (23-Sep-2019)
Musical scholars are divide on whether the modes are a useful way to think about music, but I’m convinced they are. In the seventeenth century, musicians created a fruitful and lasting link between the eight modes and eight particular keys called the church keys.
Sometimes the ancients just perfectly capture the essence of some experience that we all share.
Back in January I gave a talk at Sacred Heart Parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have a fantastic lecture series, and this was also in connection with their admirable project on the fifth centennial of Palestrina’s birth. The talk is now available on Spotify, and I hope it will be of some interest to […]
Dom Lucien David gives a practical lesson in applying the method of Dom Pothier to a chant from the Kyriale.
I’ve participated in some recent conversations about chant that might be of interest to our readers.
I propose that we consider Dom Pothier’s method without making an unnecessary appeal to authority.
It really is a minor part of Mocquereau’s theoretical enterprise. That doesn’t mean it’s completely pointless, though.
Dom Pothier died 100 years ago today.
The idea of the tonic accent in Gregorian melody runs through the entire Solesmes tradition from Gontier to Pothier to Mocquereau to the present.
We Church musicians have a high calling to bear witness to the truth with our music and our lives.
We can think of the modes and their traditional characters in a dynamic way, and it can help us to have a little more shape and direction in our singing.
This week I attended part of an excellent academic conference in honor of William Mahrt.
Two recordings of the same chant from the Sacred Music Symposium 2023.
My thesis on how Dom Mocquereau relates to other theories of musical rhythm is now available for download.
In praise of the Cardine approach to chanting, with some further thoughts on pluralism and correctness in performance practice.
