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Cathedral
of St. John Berchmans, Shreveport, Louisiana
Cathedral
Schola Cantorum
July 2010
Schola schedule
Schola music
The Cathedral Schola Cantorum recently celebrated its third
anniversary.
Following Pope Benedict XVI's publishing of the new apostolic letter
(Summorum
Pontificum)
the chant has seen a
resurgence across the country. Happily, as Father Peter Mangum had
already been receiving many requests from parishioners for Gregorian
chant and Latin in the liturgy prior to the issuing of the apostolic
letter, our little schola was a slight bit ahead. Because of those
earlier requests, along with his own desire to incorporate this
musical treasure into the liturgy once more, Father Peter called an
initial meeting of a few parishioners who had expressed an interest...
and the Schola Cantorum was born. Although enthusiastic, most of the
parishioners wishing to take part in the Schola had no experience in
singing chant or reading the notation. Even so, they made a
beginning.
From the wonderful resources available online, our
all-volunteer group was able to find help in the form of
downloadable music and recordings of the various chants to use in
learning to sing them. The group first began singing together in
early March of 2007. By Divine Mercy Sunday, they sang for their
first Latin Mass. A very generous anonymous donor supplied the
schola with much-needed Gregorian Missals and Liber Cantualis
books.
The renewed
emphasis on chant in liturgy is a call for humility above all else.
Musicians are being asked to serve rather than perform. The
motivation must be love of liturgy and its source, love of sung
prayer and its purpose, and a genuine desire to hear the people of
God united in one voice in praise and thanksgiving.
Rome has been thoroughly consistent on the matter of liturgical
music and the importance of using Gregorian chant in worship. But
genuine change in response to these directives must begin in the
parish community. It must come from the people and their pastors so
that it can truly take root once again in the life of everyday
Catholics.
Pope
Benedict: Church Musical Tradition Endures
22-May-2008 -- Catholic World News Brief
Vatican, May. 21 (CWNews.com) -
The artistic
heritage of the Church is a resource for Christians of all eras,
Pope Benedict XVI said at his weekly public audience on May 21.
"If faith is
alive, Christian culture does not become a thing of the past," the
Holy Father told his Wednesday audience. "Cathedrals are not
medieval monuments, but places where we can meet God and one
another. Great music-- Gregorian chants, Bach, Mozart-- are not
things of the past." The Holy Father based his address on the
life and work on Romanus the Melodist, a Syrian "theologian, poet,
composer, and permanent deacon" of the 6th century. He said that
Romanus belonged to "that sizeable group of theologians who
transformed theology into poetry," along with St. Ambrose, St.
Thomas Aquinas, and St. John of the Cross among others."
Romanus the
Melodist taught the people through his music, the Pope continued;
his hymns provided "a lively and original way of presenting the
catechesis." Today those hymns provide insights into both the
music and the theology of his generation. "This great poet and
composer reminds us of all the wealth of Christian culture which
was born of faith, born of hearts that encountered Christ," the
Pope said.
Check out this Resource
Chabanelpsalms
attend the Colloquium
Our
Mission
Our Schola's
mission is guided by the directive of the Second Vatican Council (Sacrosanctum
Concilium 116) that Gregorian chant "should be given pride
of place in liturgical services, although other kinds of sacred
music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded."
The schola sings English hymns from the classical tradition, along
with sacred polyphony, but plainchant is given "pride of
place" in our repertoire. We seek through our voices to offer worthy worship to the Divine
Majesty "for the praise and glory of his name" and "for the
good of all his Holy Church."
History
of the Schola
The
Schola was founded in February of 2007 and first sang publicly soon
after on Divine Mercy Sunday (April 15, 2007). The Schola serves
the 5:30 pm, Sunday Mass. We sing year round on Sundays, and
occasionally at feasts and special events.
New members are always welcome! Just come to one of the
events below and introduce yourself, or contact one of the Schola
leaders below for information.
We ask that you have basic note-reading skills in order to join, as
well as the basic singing skills.
Gregorian
Chant and Latin Resources
The
Second Vatican Council (Sacrosanctum Concilium 36, 54)
decreed that "the use of Latin is to be preserved in the
Latin Rite" and that "steps be taken so that the
faithful may be able to say or sing together in Latin
those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to
them." The schola promotes congregational
singing of the Ordinary chants (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus,
Agnus Dei) and provides booklets with the words and music of
these chants whenever they sing at Mass.
Our
Schola is a member of the
Church Music Association of America (CMAA).
Check out the CMAA
website
For
more information about joining our schola,
email
us
or call:
Justin Ward at (318) 221-5296
Visit: CMAA
Website
The Schola
Cantorum of St. John Berchmans is a parish member of the Church
Music Association of America (CMAA). More information about CMAA can
be found at their website at
www.church-music.org
Upcoming CMAA events:
Free online ear training:
http://www.solfege.org/
Check out this website for great online music: http://www.choraltreasure.org/
Schola
Schedule
Schola
Music
Download Chant:
Lux Aeterna
Qui Manducat
In Paradisum
Interested
in joining the group?
email
us.
Music in church should be an
avenue to deeper prayer, not a distraction...
Two resources to begin with for those interested.
1) "An
Idiot's Guide to Square Notes"
2) Jubilate
Deo
Kyrie (pg 3),
Sanctus (pg 3),
Agnus Dei (pg 4),
Memorial Acclamation (pg 11),
Great Amen (pg 11).
As
I was reading through parts of the General Instruction on the
Roman Missal (GIRM) which is the document that contains rubrics
and instructions for the celebration of the Mass, I noted that the
Church calls such a group as ours: "Schola Cantorum." Thus
I propose that we use the same title.
GIRM #103
The
schola cantorum or choir exercises its own liturgical
function among the faithful. Its task is to ensure that the tasks
proper to it, in keeping with the different types of chants, are
carried out becomingly and to encourage active participation of the
people in singing. What is said about the choir applies in a similar
way to other musicians, especially the organist.
Also
note: GIRM
#41
All
other things being equal, Gregorian chant holds pride of place
because it is proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other types of sacred
music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided
that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that
they foster the participation of all the faithful. Since faithful
from different countries come together ever more frequently, it is
fitting that they know how to sing together at least some parts of
the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, especially the Creed and
the Lord's Prayer, set to the simpler melodies.
The
Schola Cantorum of the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans exists to
glorify God through music, beautifying liturgy (especially Mass)
through the chants and liturgical songs that accompany the sacred
rites of the Catholic Church. The
Schola Cantorum assists the assembly as the actively participate at
Mass. Our Cathedral
Schola Cantorum will always endeavor to conform themselves to all
the rubrics and general instructions for singing as presented us by
the universal Church.
 How
can we restore
Gregorian Chant
to "pride of place"?
From
before the time of Saint Gregory the Great, through the Council of
Trent, via Pope Saint Pius X, to the Second Vatican Council, to Pope
Benedict XVI, the Holy See has continuously affirmed plain-chant as
the most appropriate music to carry the sacred texts of the Liturgy.
Vatican
II's Constitution on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, stated
that chant was to be given "pride of place" -- a
phrase echoed by Pope Paul VI in Musicam Sacram (March 5,
1967) and repeated in the current General Instruction of the Roman
Missal. (41)
Chant
is eminently suitable for the sacred Liturgy because it is sacred
in nature. That is, its form and structure make it separate and
distinct from the music of the popular culture. (It has no pounding
rhythm, no strong downbeat; it does not induce dancing, frenzy,
clapping, finger-snapping, swaying, or other earth-bound activity.)
Its
sole purpose is to carry the sacred texts, pulling our hearts and
minds away from the mundane and up toward God.
Chant is timeless.
[Recall any movie, television
show, or commercial featuring a Catholic church or monastery, and
what will be on the soundtrack? Most likely, it will be a Gregorian
chant. The world knows that the Church and chant are
intrinsically intertwined - even if Catholics have
forgotten.]
In
too many parts of the country, the belief persists that the Second
Vatican Council ordered the cessation of Latin. This is
untrue. The truth is that during the Council, Pope John XXIII
wrote an apostolic constitution, Veterum Sapientia, On the
Promotion and Study of Latin (February 22, 1962) reaffirming the
importance of Latin in the Church, and urging that Latin be
well-taught in schools and seminaries.
Sacrosanctum
Concilium
stated "the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the
Latin rites". (36.1) The Vatican has never given any directive
to the contrary.
Indeed,
the recent liturgical instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum
confirms that "Priests are always and everywhere permitted to
celebrate Mass in Latin". (112)
Our
congregation can sing historic chants like the Gloria,
various settings of Kyrie (Greek), Sanctus, Agnus
Dei, Pater Noster, and a number of Latin chant hymns.
Gregorian
Chant
Is
Returning from Exile. Maybe
ROMA, December 7, 2005 Benedict XVI is severely critical of the
degradation of music following the council, and has written on a
number of occasions what he thinks and what he wants: to restore to
the Catholic liturgy the great music that "from Gregorian chant
passes through the music of the cathedrals and polyphony, the music
of the Renaissance and the Baroque, to Bruckner and beyond."
Benedict XVI sent a message to the participants at the congress,
gathered in the New Synod Hall, encouraging them "to reflect upon
and evaluate the relationship between music and the liturgy, always
keeping close watch over practice and experimentation."
Latin and Gregorian chant, which are deeply linked to the biblical,
patristic, and liturgical sources, are part of that "lex orandi" which has
been forged over a span of almost twenty centuries. Why should such
an amputation take place, and so lightheartedly?
Gregorian chant sung by
the assembly not only can be restored - it must be restored,
together with the chanting of the "schola" and the celebrants,
if a return is desired to the liturgical seriousness, sound form,
and universality that should characterize any sort of liturgical
music worthy of the name, as Saint Pius X taught and John Paul II
repeated, without altering so much as a comma.
It should begin
with the acclamations, the Pater Noster, the ordinary chants of the
Mass, especially the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.
See
the Pope's Apostolic Letter:
Summorum
Pontificum (Latin)
Explanatory
Letter (English)
Documents
and Explanation from the USCCB
Useful
Websites and Chant resources
Church
Music Association of America (CMAA)
There
are many other useful links at this site... please check it
out!
This is where you can become a member and subscribe to the Sacred
Music publication, also
St.
Cecilia Schola, Auburn, AL
Find
many other useful links at this site, as well as wonderful .pdf
files of many wonderful music pieces for use in the liturgy.
Chabanel
Psalms
Free psalm settings for use at Mass.
Ignatius
Press (Adoremus Hymnal)
Many
useful music and literature resources available here.
Paraclete
Press
Order
copies of the various chant books directly from Paraclete here
(including the Missale Romanum, Gregorian Missal, Liber Cantualis
and others)
Christus
Rex (chant recordings)
These
recordings of monks singing all the propers and kyriale of the year
are very helpful.
CanticaNOVA
Publications
CanticaNOVA
offers many wonderful music resources. You can purchase the Graduale
Simplex here. Also, there is a very useful liturgical planning guide
at this site. Very useful in planning the music for the liturgy.
Goldberg
Magazine
Wonderful
magazine on early music
New
Liturgical Movement blog
Great
information about news about Sacred art, architecture and music
and issues concerning the liturgy.
Choral
Public Domain Library
Free
Choral Sheet Music... includes many wonderful pieces including those
we used in our music booklet for the workshop!
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