PDF Download • “Midnight Mass Musical Plan” (2020)
To show our singers how special our music is, I’ve included ancient MSS for each piece—as well as rehearsal videos.
Articles
PDF Download • “Creator Alme Siderum” with Organ Accompaniment
The Brébeuf Hymnal provides ancient (Roman Catholic) English translations of this hymn, but Eleanor Parker found versions in Anglo-Saxon!
“Improving As Musicians” • Eight Suggestions
Did you know I communicate with dead Catholic composers? I’m not joking.
Hidden Gem: Alma Redemptoris Mater (Salazar)
Here’s a Spanish Baroque motet that will gradually, gently win your heart while giving your choir another good option for the entire Christmas cycle.
What’s With All the Chant?
I had the honor of presenting this material to my parishioners at St. Thérèse Little Flower Catholic Church last week.
Announcement of Easter & the Movable Feasts • 2021 • English & Spanish
The following free downloads in English and Spanish contain dates for 2021 in the score.
(Installment #15) “Catholic Hymnals” • William Fritz
To (re)Harmonize a Hymn—“Anima Christi” by Dr. Theodore Marier
The First Time We’ve Ever Done This Correctly!
Abbot Pothier included a section called “De Ritibus Servandis In Cantu Missae.”
“Blessing the Bell” • Most Rev’d Alejandro D. Aclan
When a monk hears the bell, he stops whatever he’s doing and immediately goes to prayer. It is the voice of God calling us to pray, to avoid sin, and to forget the things of this world and think of Him.
Saint Paul’s Choir School Presents “Starry Night: Christmas in Harvard Square”
A beacon of light in a dark time, the Saint Paul’s Choir of Men and Boys presents “Starry Night: Christmas in Harvard Square”
How to Help Children Match Pitch (part III)
Three more tips on what to do and how to act with your young music students. Learn the secret ingredient of success!
“Rorate Mass” (FSSP) • 12 December 2020
Attendance was standing room only. Afterwards, the children presented roses to Mary—as the entire parish prayed the Rosary—and then we consecrated California to Jesus Christ.
“Homily — 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B” • Father Valentine Young, OFM
As the Gloria during Mass suggests, we should “thank Him simply because of His great glory.” When is the last time you did that?
Safety in Music is a Pro-Life Issue
Updated music protocols in the Archdiocese of Boston include multiple layers of protection: masks, ventilation, distance, time.
Offertory Compared • “Ave Maria” (4th Sunday of Advent) vs. “Ave Maria” (Immaculate Conception)
Consider the melody found in “Le Graduel Romain,” published in 1800—nine years before Napoleon Bonaparte kidnapped Pope Pius VII