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.

I'm back from my retreat. It was a marvelous 3 day silent retreat, out in the rolling hills of Virgina, overlooking the Hazel River. I'm very grateful to God for giving me the opportunity and grace to go, as I sorely needed a spiritual and physical break. He laid bare a small part of my soul that I could make some resolutions and ONLY with grace will I be able to follow through. I know I can only handle small bits at a time, and even the tiny bit is plenty enough to be disgusted at the sad state of my soul!

Besides be rejuvenated spiritually from the retreat, I'm all excited about the new Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis of Pope Benedict XVI, released today. I can't wait to read the entire text.

What excites me the most was highlighted by the Church Music Association of America and I repeat it here because it's so great:

42. In the ars celebrandi, liturgical song has a pre-eminent place. Saint Augustine rightly says in a famous sermon that "the new man sings a new song. Singing is an expression of joy and, if we consider the matter, an expression of love.". The People of God assembled for the liturgy sings the praises of God. In the course of her two-thousand-year history, the Church has created, and still creates, music and songs which represent a rich patrimony of faith and love. This heritage must not be lost. Certainly as far as the liturgy is concerned, we cannot say that one song is as good as another. Generic improvisation or the introduction of musical genres which fail to respect the meaning of the liturgy should be avoided. As an element of the liturgy, song should be well integrated into the overall celebration. Consequently everything – texts, music, execution – ought to correspond to the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, the structure of the rite and the liturgical seasons. Finally, while respecting various styles and different and highly praiseworthy traditions, I desire, in accordance with the request advanced by the Synod Fathers, that Gregorian chant be suitably esteemed and employed as the chant proper to the Roman liturgy....

62. ... I am thinking here particularly of celebrations at international gatherings, which nowadays are held with greater frequency. The most should be made of these occasions. In order to express more clearly the unity and universality of the Church, I wish to endorse the proposal made by the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council, that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, such liturgies could be celebrated in Latin. Similarly, the better-known prayers of the Church's tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung. Speaking more generally, I ask that future priests, from their time in the seminary, receive the preparation needed to understand and to celebrate Mass in Latin, and also to use Latin texts and execute Gregorian chant; nor should we forget that the faithful can be taught to recite the more common prayers in Latin, and also to sing parts of the liturgy to Gregorian chant.

What does this mean for us in our Domestic Churches, as educators of our children? I'm sifting through my thoughts on that one. I have written before about Gregorian Chant and Sacred Music in the Home, particularly The Ward Method. I do only baby steps at home, but want to do more. It's obvious Latin and Gregorian Chant should definitely be part of our home environment, education, and prayer life. The Church Music Association of America is a treasure of information, education, and resources. I just need to work it into our Domestic Church. I have some more ideas...but that will be another post.

We're big Louis Armstrong fans in this house. With all the posts on All Saints Day, I just had to include some music to match the titles "When the Saints Go Marching In." As I already mentioned the Litany of the Saints is perfect to sing or pray for this day. But we can also add for fun:

When the Saints Go Marching In. This is an old gospel hymn that was used in funeral processions, particularly in New Orleans. Louis Armstrong's recording was one of the first to make it nationally known. See Answers for more about this song.

Louis Armstrong (Satchmo) recorded and played this song throughout his long career, and each recording is a bit different. For your viewing and listening enjoyment, here are two versions on You Tube. His trumpet playing is just unsurpassed.

When the Saints Go Marching In No Date

When the Saints Go Marching In Faster Tempo, 1959.

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Just a little Halloween addendum. Joanna Bogle writes about Halloween. What a shame that bringing over American traditions means commercialization and materialism!

Don't miss Scott Turkington playing the organ. This is a video from the recently held Colloquium on Sacred Music. The final Mass was at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, DC. If you have an aspiring keyboardist, this is definitely inspirational!

I was just thrilled to read Fr. John T. Zuhlsdorf's entry on Who sings well prays twice… NOT! that rectifies the falsely attributed quote "He who sings, prays twice" to St. Augustine. He did not write it, and the actual phrase is orat qui bene cantat… "he who sings well prays twice."

He did write: "cantare amantis est… Singing belongs to one who loves."

AND he also wrote...I'm quoting completely from Father Z to be able to pull up the text often:

Qui enim cantat laudem, non solum laudat, sed etiam hilariter laudat; qui cantat laudem, non solum cantat, sed et amat eum quem cantat. In laude confitentis est praedicatio, in cantico amantis affectio…
For he who sings praise, does not only praise, but also praises joyously; he who sings praise, is not only singing, but also loving Him whom he is singing about/to/for. There is a praise-filled public proclamation (praedicatio) in the praise of someone who is confessing/acknowledging (God), in the song of the lover (there is) there is deep love.

The real quotes are even better than the attributed one!