Help! • Seeking “Machine Gun” Singing Technique
It was without question the wildest thing I ever heard.
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Three (3) Cheerful Items • “Sacred Music Revolution”
Dallas, Singapore, Los Angeles…there’s so much good in the world!
Who Should Sing the Passion? What about Tracts?
“I am of the opinion that women are not to participate in the singing of the crowd parts and that the manner of alternation in the tract is merely a matter of custom, preference, or practicality.” —Patrick Williams
“Seventy-Three (73) Changes” • Which Pope Pius XII Made to Holy Week
If we feel compelled to condemn these changes, let’s at least spend time learning what they are!
Three (3) Tricks Every Choir Director Should Learn
Conscientious choirmasters know it’s crucial to get “as much bang for your buck” as possible.
Question: “How Do You Read The Official Edition?”
A reader asks: “No Dotted Neumes?”
PDF Download • “Organ Accompaniment Booklet” (Passion Sunday Vespers) — 24 pages
Fulton J. Sheen considered Monsignor Knox’s English translation of the Bible to be the greatest ever created.
Vespers for Easter Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
A ramble about open source software and three PDF files for 1962 Vespers for Ferias 4-6 in the Octave of Easter.
Hidden Gem: Ave Regina Caelorum (Steven Talley)
This sweet, simple SATB motet provides a contrast to heavier, darker Lenten repertoire. But it’s going out of season soon.
Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
“In nothing are English Catholics so poor as in vernacular hymns. The real badness of most of our popular hymns (endeared, unfortunately, to the people by association) surpasses anything that could otherwise be imagined.” —Father Fortescue
“Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
As Americans, we’re “bred from birth” to think of ourselves as little gods who already know everything and require no correction.
At the Cross • Stabat Mater
“The devotional version of this hymn employs a later tune erroneously called ‘plainsong’ in various sources.” —Patrick Williams
Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2023
The Ward Method is a classical pedagogy designed for pre-K through eighth grade music classes in Catholic schools.
PDF Download • Vespers Organ Accomp. Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent) — 24 pages
This is probably too late … but there’s always next year!
Mass and Motets
This little booklet has had a long influence on choirs, but isn’t very widely known. How many of these pieces are you familiar with?