Family in Feast and Feria

Restoring Sacred Music is one of my passions. I now have a motto from our beloved Pope Benedict XVI. Music Sacra has this wonderful poster. The quote bears repeating here:

An authentic updating of sacred music can take place only in the lineage of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.

Pope Benedict XVI,
June 24, 2006

I now have a few items on my shopping list: Stickers, notecards, and the poster.

Those who know me understand WHY I love St. Gregory the Great so much. So this combo of the quote and St. Gregory is so wonderful.

I have written before about Gregorian Chant and the Ward Method. I do think many people are thrown off by the idea of learning and singing chant. It seems so...well, Monastic. But chant is for everyone, and everyone can learn.

I have three great resources to share.

The first I received as a birthday gift from my mother. It's A Gregorian Chant Master Class which consists of a cd and book. The book is just gorgeous, very well done, 3 color printing, 82 pages. I think all Catholic book stores should carry this! There are snippets from the cd at the above link to get a taste of the class. There are ten instructions with very sound, practical advice. The book follows the cd, and then has some additional information.

Theodore Marier was a master, and this is such a gold mine to have his instructions to share. This class would be wonderful for the parents and older children to learn or refresh their knowledge in chant.

Just a side note, it took me a while to receive the order. My mother ordered it during Lent, and I think the sisters might not ship during that time? But it proved to be a nice Easter gift. At any rate, the shipping wasn't expedient.

To continue the beginning chant, St. Veronica Catholic Church has this wonderful cd, A Guide to Gregorian Chant.

I have mentioned the Ward Method, which was started by Justine Ward. The Church has always held that Gregorian Chant is for everyone, and so simple everyone can learn. She took that to heart and wrote a program to use in the Catholic schools so that even young children could learn chant.

The Ward Method training is offered every summer from Catholic University in Washington, DC. The books were slightly revised by Theodore Marier and there are all new materials (charts, tapes, etc.) to go along with the program, all available through Catholic University Press. The book covers are show in Barnes and Noble, although not available.

Not everyone has the luxury to take the courses and/or buy the expensive materials. Church Music Association of America has reprinted the four original works of the Ward Method (scroll down the page). There are also .pdf files of every reprinted book, found under "Teaching Aids" in the right hand column. Gregorian Chant for Church and School is another good resource. Since even FREE options are available, there's no excuse to NOT learn Gregorian Chant and become familiar with the Ward Method.

For further reading on learning and preserving our sacred treasure, see this excellent series of articles by Susan Benofy, Buried Treasure.

St. Gregory the Great, pray for us.
St. Cecilia, pray for us.