Our Sweelinck Project constitutes the most ambitious choral project in the history of the Schola. We undertook the piece Gaudete Omnes (1619) to lift our spirits for the fall, to break out the liturgical box of preparing only barely in time for the next Mass, and to expand our repertoire in time and geography. The goal has always been to have it ready for Gaudete Sunday, December 11, which seems like a long time but actually that leaves us perhaps 4 more full hours on it (given on the other demands on rehearsal time).

For the first several weeks, we wondered if we were crazy to take this on. The piece is nothing short of spectacular but the rhythms are extremely tricky for a schola that is used to broad lines of polyphony such as you find in Palestrina and Tallis. The notes are another issue—it is written for SSATB—not because they are intrinsically difficult but because the piece moves so quickly that you hardly have time to get your bearings. It is easy to find yourself doing the musical equivalent of driving forward while navigating with a rear-view mirror.

The schola rehearses and sings with no accompaniment, which is a strength in terms of developing our own ears and sensibilities but it can be difficult to learn a piece this way. There is no “pounding out notes.” We have to feel our way around the scales, imaging intervals and pitches before they happen. And since there is no exogenous force to set a tempo, we have to all think alike even as our noses are buried in our pages of an unfamiliar motet.

On the latter point, a metronome helped enormously this week. The recording we acquired has the choir sing this piece at an astounding 94 beats per minute, but we are rehearsing it at 74, and we will probably end up singing it not much faster. We joked in rehearsal that a piece that takes this long to work up shouldn’t be permitted to go by too quickly in liturgy!

We have yet to sing the entire piece all the way through. Last night we say the first glimpses of order and beauty as we put together the first large section, some three to four pages of music. It was so exciting that we all had a tough time settling down to work on the more contemplative pieces we are preparing for this week’s liturgy. Now we have worked a total of some 3.5 hours on this piece—two full rehearsals and one half—and we are feeling very optimistic indeed.

Glory be to the Sweelinck Project!

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Because of a feature on Catholic Exchange, many people have written to ask where they may obtain recordings and books to get started on chant.
Step 1:

• CDs: 1) Gregorian Chant, Popular Melodies Vol. 1 (Solesmes, from Amazon), Gregorian Chant, Popular Melodies Vol. 2 (Solesmes, from Amazon), and 3. O Lux Beatissima (OCP)
  
• Song books: 1) Liber Cantualis (Solesmes, OCP), and 2) Laus Tibi, Christe (OCP, modern notation)

Step 2:

• CDs: Vespers and Compline (Solesmes, from Amazon), among hundreds covering propers and extended ordinary settings.
  
• Books: Gregorian Missal (Solesmes, OCP)--the essential liturgical book for English-speaking Catholic musicians--and A Gregorian Chant Master Class. This last book is simply wonderful for those who aspire to go beyond popular melodies. It is still not available for ordering online but the Sisters at Abbey of Regina Laudis would be very happy to send you a copy for $30.

Before you begin working towards chant in your parish, please read this essay.
(Note: the schola makes no commision from the above links, not even through an associate program. However, the Schola is pleased to accept donations sent to St. Michaels Catholic Church, St. Cecilia Schola, 302 East Magnolia Ave., Auburn, Alabama 36830

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Introduce your children’s choir to chant this fall

Begin with the Ordinary parts of the Mass. These are short and often repetitive, and offer the children and adults in your parish a wonderful opportunity to see the chant put into service right away. These chants can be found in Pope Paul VI' Jubilate Deo, which is downloadable for free here on our site. The same chants (chants of the Ordinary of the Mass and numerous chant hymns ) can be found in the Liber Cantualis, available from the monks of Solesmes or the Oregon Catholic Press at www.ocp.org The OCP also offers a new and inexpensive compilation of chants for Mass (Laus Tibi, Christe) rendered in modern notation, which could be helpful to you if you do not yet read the medieval neumes.

Younger children can begin by mimicking the line of chant you sing to them. Stress to them that these are the ancient sounds of the church, and that children have been singing them for centuries. Their eyes will widen when they realize the importance of what they are learning, which, in turn, will contribute to their proper deportment during Mass itself.

If you are dealing with older children , you may want to begin teaching them how to read the neumes. If you are unfamiliar yourself, as many music directors are these days, there are various publications available for self teaching. Probably the best thing out there is A Gregorian Chant Masterclass, offered by the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, CT. The package includes an instruction book and CD, and is a great value.

For more in depth instruction for yourself, you may want to look into the offerings of the Church Music Association of America. It offers a week long Colloquium on Sacred Music each summer in which participants, under world renown conductors, work on chant and polyphony to be sung in daily Mass for the duration of the week. The CMAA site also features information about the chant classes offered each summer by the Ward Center at Catholic University. These are designed primarily for choral directors and teachers who work with children.

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Here is the program for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). The color in the pdf does not show because we print to black and white.

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