Announcing a New Initiative: CMAA Groups

The Church Music Association of America, the owner and publisher of the New Liturgical Movement, has started a new initiative called CMAA Groups.  Goups@musicasacra.com. We want to extend the spirit of our annual Colloquium throughout the year. It is important, however, that you know who we are, where we come from, and why we do what we do. We also want to build our membership. We have many resources that people use for their own benefit and for the benefit of their choirs. Using what we offer is awesome, but we want to build up the number of citizens who share in our vocation to spread our love for the Sacred Music of the Church, which is at the service Our Lord Himself. We also want to build collegiality among CMAA Members in local groups spread throughout the country.

I would like to start with a brief history of the Church Music Association of America. From the late 1800’s to just before Vatican II, which convened in 1962, the Liturgical movement was striving to teach lay people Gregorian Chant and sing more at Mass. There were many groups fostering this renewal were: the Pius X Liturgical School, the Catholic Choirmasters Guild, the Caecilian movement from the Midwest, Boys’ Town in Nebraska and the St Gregory Society in the East.

Liturgical changes started to happen during the reign of Pope Pius XII. In 1955, Holy Week was completely changed as well as many feast days. The Council opened in 1962; its first document was on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. Next, the Consilium was established to begin the changes to the Liturgy called for in SC. Three well-known priest musicians decided to start planning the proper implementation of Sacred Music: Msgr. Angles from Spain, Msgr. Overath from Germany, and Msgr. Schuler from the church of Saint Agnes in the archdiocese of Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

In 1963, Pope Paul VI issued Nobile Subsidium Liturgiae, which established the Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae or CIMS - the international Association for Sacred Music. The Sacred Music groups in the US mentioned above hosted CIMS at the Fifth International Church Music Congress, held in 1966 in Milwaukee and Chicago. From this meeting the CMAA was born. The Caecilian movement in the Midwest and the St Gregory Society in the East merged to form the CMAA. The journals of both societies were merged into “Sacred Music.” This makes our journal, Sacred Music, the oldest continuous publication on all the issues that concern musica sacra in the Church in the United States. The CMAA was established as the official representative of CIMS in the USA.

Not too long after the founding of the CMAA, Universa Laus was founded in opposition to CIMS. They desired a complete vernacularization of the Liturgy: official texts were hard to come by, and the hootenanny Mass was launched – “Michael row your boat ashore,” with an avalanche of horrible sacro-pop entering the sacred liturgy. By the time of the promulgation of the New Mass in 1969, Latin was unofficially almost forbidden, and the treasury of Sacred Music had basically disappeared.

The CMAA went into survival mode. Msgr. Schuler and his secretary, Virginia Schubert, kept the journal Sacred Music going against all odds. Twenty-two years after the promulgation of the Novus Ordo Missae, the first Colloquium was held at Christendom College. For these twenty-two years, except in a few places, the treasury of sacred music was basically dead. The Colloquium was the beginning of the revival of the CMAA. It eventually started to move around the country and began to attract more attendees. In 2005/2006 the CMAA published a huge number of materials in the public domain on our website, making us the “go to” place to learn about sacred music. And we have been expanding ever since.

Why do we do what we do?

We believe, in accordance with the teachings of the Church, that the presence of Christ is most fully revealed in the Sacred Liturgy when it is celebrated solemnly; that is, with the sacred music that the Church sees as its own. In this experience, each individual worships God most fully, and each musician can use their talent and training to worship God and be of service to their brothers and sisters. Sacred music must be holy, true art, and universal.

How do we accomplish this?

We invite the clergy and the faithful to discover the Church’s treasury of sacred music – Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony, organ music, and worthy new compositions. We equip them through education, our journal Sacred Music, and with various online and in-person conferences. We build friendships and collegiality. This “friendship in Sacred Music” will enable musicians to flourish through a life of service to God and His Holy Church.

Finally, what are we about?

We are a community of people in love with the Sacred Music Treasury of the Catholic Church. We are committed to teaching and restoring this treasury to its proper place in all the Liturgies of the Roman Rite. All the officers of the board, including the President, pay dues every year. Except for the general manager, who is not paid enough, we are all unpaid volunteers.

We have made a commitment to this organization because it is of the utmost importance, in obedience to the teaching of the Church.

By launching “CMAA Groups,” we want to build up personal commitment to the CMAA and sacred music. We want more citizens who will join the CMAA and with us, in real collegiality, share this joyful work. Groups@musicasacra.com.

We will provide a program for nine months each year. The program will begin with sung Compline and eventually move to Vespers. There will be an assigned reading with discussion questions. There will then be a social so that people can get to know each other for support, encouragement and friendship. On three of the occasions there will be an added music reading session that will explore different works that are relevant to the up-coming liturgical season. We are in the process of finding competent people who can host a local group. We have already spoken with people in different parts of the country. We plan to have our beta test in September with the group from the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

We will also encourage people who wish to continue in the group to join the CMAA. People always ask, what do I get for my $72.00 annual membership fee. The very first perk and the most important is that you are now a citizen of the CMAA who is helping us continue our mission. Of course you will receive our journal, Sacred Music, continue to get certain discounts, have access to online programs, be remembered at one of the Masses during the Colloquium, and receive news and updates.

I like to call these groups local Gregorian chant cells that are organically and locally attracting more people. I am asking everyone who is reading this to join the CMAA, if you have not already done so, and if you are a member, to try to get one or more people to join. An increase in membership is so important.

In conclusion, we are looking for enthusiastic, energetic, committed, happy, spiritual citizens that will not only take what they receive, but with us, continue to give it. Please become part of why we do what we do, how we accomplish this, and what we are all about. If you are interested email us at Groups@musicasacra.com.

Deus in Adjutorium Meum Intende: Online Conference on the Divine Office, February 6 & 7

Discover the beauty of the sung Divine Office at this enriching online conference!

The Church Music Association of America is proud to serve as a co-host with the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music for an upcoming conference on the sung Divine Office, which will be held online on February 6-7.

Beginning with the ancient invocation “Deus in adjutorium meum intende ~ O God, come to my assistance”), this event explores how the Divine Office, the Church’s official daily prayer, is sung and lived across diverse spiritual traditions and charisms, from Benedictine monasteries, Dominican friaries, and Norbertine abbeys to diocesan rectories, cathedrals, and in the lives of the laity.

Sessions include:

• Theological reflections on biblical texts and the hymns of the Office
• Practical workshops on chanting psalmody and employing the organ at the Divine Office
• Insights into adapting the Divine Office in parish settings, religious communities, and private prayer
• Presentations on historical and contemporary approaches to sung prayer in various rites and orders

Whether you are a cleric, religious, choir director, or lay faithful seeking to deepen your prayer life through sacred music, this conference will inspire you to make the Church’s universal prayer a vibrant part of your daily rhythm. Register now and join Catholics from around the world in praising God through the timeless treasure of the Divine Office!

Learn More and Register

Speakers and Topics

• The Spirituality of the Divine Office – Fr. Mark Bachmann, OSB, Choirmaster of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey
• The Spirituality and Place of the Divine Office in the Lives of the Laity – Dr. Anthony Lilles, St. Patrick’s Seminary, Avila Institute
• The Spirituality of the Sung Office for the Diocesan Priest – Fr. Robert Pasley, Church Music Association of America (CMAA)
• Accompaniment & Accentuation: The Role of the Organ in the Divine Office – Prof. Christopher Berry, CMAA and Catholic Institute of Sacred Music
• The Hymns of the Divine Office – Sr. Maria Kiely, OSB, Dominican House of Studies, ICEL
• Vocal Technique for Singing the Office – Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, CMAA and Catholic Institute of Sacred Music
• Officium Divinum: The Role of Latin in the Celebration of the Divine Office – Gregory DiPippo, Editor of New Liturgical Movement
• Progressive Solemnity in the Dominican Office – Fr. Innocent Smith, OP, University of Notre Dame
• The Old Testament Canticles of Lauds: Songs of the New Creation – Dr. Nina Heereman, St. Patrick’s Seminary
• Nihil operi Dei præponatur: The Centrality of the Divine Office in Monastic Life – Abbot Marc Crilly, OSB, St. Benedict’s Abbey
• The Divine Office for the Canons Regular of Prémontré: A Changing Expression of a Perennial Vocation – Fr. Chrysostom Baer, O.Praem., St. Michael’s Abbey, Silverado, California
• Challenges in Preparing Editions for and Singing the Liturgy of the Hours in Parish Life – Dr. Richard Skirpan, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
• Psalmody Workshop: Pointing, Pacing, and Developing a Community Sound – Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, CMAA and Catholic Institute of Sacred Music

Early Bird Registration Discount for CMAA Colloquium Ends March 31st!

Join us this summer for world-class training in the Church’s treasury of sacred music.

Early bird registration discount ($50 for colloquium, $50 for Vocal Intensive course, $150 off for Chant Intensive) ends March 31st!

Here’s a special invitation from our new president, Fr. Robert Pasley.

The Church Music Association of America is pleased to announce our 2025 Summer Courses: Chant Intensive and Vocal Intensive. These 5-day courses in the beautiful University of St. Thomas facilities in St. Paul, Minnesota, will immerse beginner to advanced singers, chant conductors, and clergy in the beauty of the Church’s treasury of sacred music, and are ideal for for singers, conductors, cantors, or teachers.

The CMAA Summer Chant and Vocal Intensives are intended for beginning and continuing students, and all those who love and appreciate the central role that sacred music plays as the prayerful song of the Roman rite—not only at cathedrals and basilicas, but in any parish. 

Summer Courses - June 17–21, 2025

Vocal Intensive, taught by Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam

Chant Intensive, taught by Prof. Nicholas Lemme
(A bonus: to get the extra discount for this course, use the promotional code INTENSE25 at checkout; valid through March 31.)

Learn more about the intensive courses and register here. 

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35th Annual Sacred Music Colloquium

University of St. Thomas

Saint Paul, Minnesota

June 23-28, 2025

• Extensive training in Gregorian chant under a world-class faculty, with choices of chant classes for beginners to advanced, for men and women.
• Chant specialty breakout sessions on Gregorian modes and chant conducting
• Music specialty breakout sessions for organists and sessions on new music, vocal pedagogy, education, and chant theory, among others.
• Choral experience with one of three choirs singing sacred music of the masters such as Bruckner, Healey Willan, Stanford, Mozart, Guerrero, Langlais, Gallus, Bianciardi, Lasso, Victoria, Saint-Saëns, Gombert, and Dering, as well as a newly composed Spanish Mass Ordinary by Breck McGough. You’ll learn with our gifted faculty.
• Daily liturgies with careful attention to musical settings in English, Spanish and Latin
• Individual training in vocal production and technique (by appointment only)
• A one-of-a-kind Book of Scores, including chant and polyphony
• Book sales from the CMAA warehouse. We offer discounts on our books to CMAA members.

Learn more and register here.

Announcing the CMAA 2025 Colloquium and Summer Courses

2025 Sacred Music Colloquium and our Summer Courses are filling up fast!

The Church Music Association of American invites all its friend and supporters to come to the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota for an inspiring week (or two!) of music, liturgy, and professional development.

REGISTER TODAY TO SAVE YOUR SEAT!

Take advantage of early bird pricing, available only until March 31! In addition, CMAA members receive an exclusive discount. If you’re not yet a member, join today to unlock these savings and gain access to other incredible events throughout the year.

The 2025 Summer Courses include:

• Vocal Intensive
• Gregorian Chant Intensive
• Organ Improvisation (This course is FULL!)

These courses will take place from June 17-21, 2025 and offer in-depth, hands-on instruction for all levels.

The Sacred Music Colloquium, running June 23-28, will feature:

• Renowned directors
• Esteemed organists
• Extraordinary Sacred Liturgies

This event is designed for sacred musicians of all skill levels, from beginners to advanced practitioners, offering opportunities for growth, enrichment, and inspiration.

For more details and to register, simply click the links below:

2025 Summer Courses Registration

2025 Sacred Music Colloquium Registration

Don’t miss out on the Early Bird discount—register today to secure your spot at these transformative events!

Not a CMAA member? We encourage you to join the CMAA today to take advantage of membership benefits, including discounts on this and other enriching events, which you can find on our Upcoming Events page.

We look forward to welcoming you in June for an unforgettable experience!

New Leadership for the CMAA

Dear Friends of the Church Music Association of America and The New Liturgical Movement, 

We know that, along with those of us on staff and on the board of directors, you have been mourning the recent death of our beloved president, William P. Mahrt. Thank you all for your messages of condolence and remembrances that have been shared. 

In striving to move forward in the leadership of the organization Dr. Mahrt loved so much, the Board of Directors has elected Rev. Robert Pasley as our new President of the CMAA to lead the organization as we move forward.

Fr. Pasley has acted as an officer of the board for many years. After first becoming introduced to the beauty of sacred music in the liturgy by Fr. Richard Schuler, of St. Agnes Parish (St. Paul, Minnesota), editor of Sacred Music, he became a loyal member and was identified early on as a leader. As Vice President many years ago, when Fr. Robert Skeris was the Association’s President, he was there, signing the documents for the CMAA’s incorporation in Virginia. He attended the very first Sacred Music Colloquium and has attended nearly all of them in the years since. Eighteen years ago, when Dr. William Mahrt was elected as CMAA board President and Dr. Horst Buchholz as Vice President, Fr. Pasley took the position of Chaplain. He has served faithfully as a spiritual guide and officer ever since.

As many of you know from your attendance at the Sacred Music Colloquium, both in-person and online, Fr. Pasley has been a leader and source of encouragement to all of us in our work to promote sacred music, through his input on the planning of all our events, the management of all our liturgies, and his sharing of his experience with us through breakouts, talks at our events, and online spiritual reflections. We are so grateful he was willing to accept this new leadership role. He will also continue to serve as Chaplain.

After eighteen years of service to the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz has decided to retire from his position as Vice President. The entire board of directors is so grateful for his generous gift of his time, valuable guidance and experience during these many years. 

The board has elected Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka to take on the job of Vice President, and she has also been assigned the position of Director of Publications by Fr. Pasley, as one of his first actions as our new president. In these new roles, she will continue to assist the president in the management of the organization and will also continue her work in creating and promoting new publications for the benefit of church musicians. 

Dr. Donelson-Nowicka has been a “member-at-large” of the Board of Directors since 2014. Since 2012, she has served as managing editor of the Sacred Music journal, working closely with editor William Mahrt to faithfully publish the journal in the years since. She has also worked on all our recent publications and new projects (such as The Parish Book of Motets and the Parish Book of Chant recording project, as well as our upcoming new publication, a collection of three-part motets). She has long been a member of the faculty at our events and has been a member of the event planning committee for several years. Known for her ability to accomplish more in less time than seems humanly possible, the board is very appreciative for her willingness to accept these new roles. 

We ask for your prayers and support of our new officers as they take on the leadership of the organization in this new year.

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Continue Reading this Article. . .

Call for Participation - Special Issue of Sacred Music Dedicated to Dr. Mahrt

Call for Participation - A Special Issue of Sacred Music Journal, Dedicated to Dr. William Mahrt

The editorial team of the Church Music Association of America’s journal Sacred Music will dedicate the upcoming first issue of 2025 to the life and work of its recently deceased editor, Dr. William Mahrt. Submissions from readers are welcome, and may be of a varied nature:

• Short stories about Dr. Mahrt, his teaching, scholarship, or life
• Articles about a particular aspect of Dr. Mahrt’s life or work
• Articles dedicated to Dr. Mahrt about any topic suitable for the journal, though not necessarily citing his work.

The length may range from 500 words to 6,000. Submissions must follow the journal’s style sheet, available here. Submissions must be made as a Word document, with embedded footnotes (if applicable) via email to: submissions@musicasacra.com.

Deadline for submission: February 15, 2025.

Read Dr. Mahrt’s obituary and see photos from the funeral here.

Read this beautiful and fitting sermon from the Requiem Mass by His Excellency Salvatore Cordileone, archbishop of San Francisco, here. 

A Wealth of Practical and Scholarly Articles in Sacred Music Journal

The editorial team of the CMAA’s journal Sacred Music is now at work on our 151st volume of the publication, having published our last issue, vol. 150, in mid-December. We are also very happy to have welcomed onto our regular editorial team Dr. Emily Thelen, an outstanding scholar and editor.

Four times yearly, Sacred Music publishes a wonderful collection of articles - excellent scholarship, essays on practical issues, and high-quality performing editions of rare and chestnut works for choir and organ. Our forthcoming Spring 2024 issue features several essays on Maurice Duruflé, in anticipation of our singing of the Duruflé Requiem at the 2024 CMAA Colloquium in Champaign, Illinois.

Membership in the Church Music Association includes a subscription to Sacred Music—with electronic access as soon as the physical copy goes off to the printers—as well as access to bookstore and events discounts, and numerous members-only continuing education events.

Join now so you don’t miss out on the upcoming issue.

Winter 2023 (150.4) Table of Contents

Editorial

Eucharist | William Mahrt

Articles

– William Byrd’s Cantiones sacræ | William Mahrt

– Rereading Psalm 109 in Old Testament, New Testament, and Liturgical Contexts | Fr. Joshua Neu

– Aligning Your Conducting Gestures to Reflect Your Musical Intention | Sarah Maria Craig Penner

– Healthy Vocal Technique for Gregorian Chant | MeeAe Cecilia Nam

Repertory

– Puer natus est: Christmas Polyphonic Treasures for the Parish Choir | Elijah McMahon

– Let the Earth Acclaim Christ Jesus: Hymn of the National Eucharistic Revival | Kathleen Pluth

Commentary

– Christmas Organ Music | Christopher Berry

– The Well-Dressed Choir: Questions to Consider | Mary Jane Ballou

Announcing This Year’s CMAA Summer Programs and Colloquium

The Church Music Association (CMAA) is happy to announce the upcoming in-person events for 2024. The St John Newman Center in Champaign, Illinois, will be our host this year; their newly-renovated chapel is lovely, as evidenced by the photos of some of the aspects of the renovation.

CMAA SUMMER COURSES | June 18-22 | Champaign, Illinois

The Summer Courses will have three options this year.

• Chant Intensive, to be taught by Jeffrey Morse, of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Phoenix, AZ.
• Vocal Intensive, to be taught by Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam, of Eastern Michigan University
• Organ Improvisation, to be taught by Dr. Horst Buchholz, Director of Music, Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Diocese of Detroit

For the Vocal Intensive course, we will be limiting attendance to no more than 15 registrants. For the Organ Improvisation, we can accept no more than 5 registrants.

The three courses will share breaks and meals, as well as working toward the culmination of the courses with a closing Mass in the lovely chapel. Chant Intensive students will prepare the Mass Ordinary and Proper Chants; Vocal Intensive will prepare polyphonic pieces; Organ Improvisation will prepare the prelude, postlude and any other Mass improvisation needed for the liturgy.

Get all the details of the courses here, as well as access to registration:

CMAA SUMMER COURSES DETAILS

CMAA SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM | June 24-29, 2024 | Champaign, Illinois

Our 34th Annual Sacred Music Colloquium will feature the following plenary speakers for 2024:

• Bishop Earl K. Fernandes, Bishop of Columbus, Ohio
• Dr. William P. Mahrt, Editor, Sacred Music, President of CMAA
• Gregory DiPippo, Editor, New Liturgical Movement

Join the CMAA for a wonderful six days of learning, singing, praying and laughing together as we work on chant and polyphony with an outstanding faculty. Dormitory housing and meals will be on-site at the Newman Center facilities, as well as all sessions. This may be the most convenient of all our Colloquium locations to date!

The repertory will include chanted Mass Ordinaries, Propers, and office hymns, as well as a variety of polyphonic works, including the Duruflé Requiem when we pray for all deceased CMAA Members. With liturgies in the Novus Ordo (in English, Spanish, and Latin), as well as the Usus antiquior, experience the full range of the Roman Rite with reverence and the best we can offer in worship of God.

For all the details about the schedule, faculty, registration and housing, visit the website here:

CMAA SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM

Announcing CMAA’s Fall Sacred Music Workshop

The Church Music Association of America is pleased to announce the first Fall Sacred Music Workshop for Chant and Polyphony. This four-day workshop offers participants the opportunity to study chant and polyphony with outstanding directors and presenters: Dr. Horst Buchholz, Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, David Hughes, Dr. William Mahrt, and Rev. Robert Pasley. We also welcome guest speakers Maggie Gallagher, of the Benedict XVI Institute, and Fr. Samuel Weber, of St. Patrick's Seminary.

Participate in singing the beautiful liturgies with the CMAA on September 15, 16, and 17 at St. Patrick's Seminary in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, California. Join in with morning and night prayer and enjoy an evening with sung Vespers and an organ recital. Lodging will be available at Vallombrosa Retreat Center during the workshop. Full meals and lodging are available for participants. Commuter options also available. Liturgies will be at St. Patrick's Seminary.

Get all the details here: FALL WORKSHOP

Register online here: ONLINE REGISTRATION

Register Now for CMAA Summer Programs

The Church Music Association of America (CMAA) is happy to announce that we will be holding in-person events this year. We hope you’ll make plans to join us for lovely liturgies, inspiration, education, and camaraderie.

SUMMER COURSES will be held on June 14-18, and our SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM on June 20-25, both events at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Both events are also hosted by The Collegium of Hagerstown, Maryland. Our SUMMER COURSES will include:

• NEW!!! Vocal Training Intensive, Dr. MeeAe Cecilia Nam, Instructor
• Laus in Ecclesia - Level One (Clear Creek Abbey), Kathy Reinheimer, Instructor
• NEW!!! Laus in Ecclesia - Level Two (Clear Creek Abbey), Br. Mark Bachmann, Instructor

For details about the courses and the schedule, visit our webpage here: SUMMER COURSES.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW - SUMMER COURSES

The SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM will feature the opportunity to sing in chant and polyphony choirs, hear inspiring plenary talks and breakouts, join in morning and night prayer, and add your voice to the music at liturgies Tuesday - Saturday, plus Vespers on Thursday. The liturgies at St Mary’s Catholic Church will be:

• June 21, 4:30 pm, Mass, Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Novus ordo (NO), Spanish / Latin
• June 22, 4:30 pm, Mass, Memorial of Ss. John Fisher and Thomas More, NO, English
• June 23, 4:30 pm, Mass, Nativity of St. John the Baptist, NO, Latin
• June 23, 7:00 pm, Vespers, 1st Vespers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Usus antiquior (UA), Latin
• June 24, 4:30 pm, Mass, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (UA), Latin
• June 25, 10:30 am, Mass, Requiem Mass for Deceased CMAA Members, UA, Latin

For all the details about the Colloquium, including faculty, choirs, repertory, schedule, detail about breakout topics, visit our webpage here: SACRED MUSIC COLLOQUIUM.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW - COLLOQUIUM

If you want to help support our in-person programs, particularly for scholarships and reduced registration fees for seminarians and students, please consider making a donation to the CMAA.

GIVE A GIFT

CMAA’s Fall Virtual Sacred Music Workshop - Beauty in Sacred Music: Philosophical Foundations and Practical Strategies

The Church Music Association of America is proud to invite you to join us in our Fall Virtual Sacred Music Workshop

Beauty in Sacred Music: Philosophical Foundations and Practical Strategies

October 14–16, 2021, Online

This Fall Workshop will be primarily focused on instruction in topics related to chant and the Catholic sacred music tradition, lectures and daily night prayer. During the three days, you’ll be able to participate in all these sessions via your home computer using the Zoom app. At the end of each breakout session there will be a short question-and-answer period. Sessions will be recorded and made available to participants to view immediately. Highlights:

• Saturday Morning Mass for the intentions of our generous donors
• Daily Breakout sessions on a variety of topics:
• The Fundamental Trajectory of Aesthetic Education
• Beauty in the Jesuit Model of Evangelization: the Jesuit Reductions
• The Necessity of Beauty in the Liturgy (Spanish)
• Gems of the Polyphonic Repertoire that a Parish Choir Can Sing Beautifully
• Beautiful Sacred Music in the Context of a Spanish-Language Liturgy (Spanish)
• The Beauty of Children’s Voices and Beauty in Sacred Music Education Programs for Young Singers
• What Makes Chant Beautiful
• and more
• Daily Spiritual Reflections provided by our chaplain Rev. Robert Pasley.
• Night Prayer (Compline)
• Questions and Answer sessions after each Breakout

Registration and more information are available here: https://musicasacra.com/events/fall-virtual-sacred-music-workshop/

Sacred Music Boot Camp

Interested in learning the basics of how to chant? How to start a chant choir? Wondering what the fundamentals principles of singing the Mass? Confused about what's going on in the music program in your parish and decided that you'd like to help out? 

The CMAA has got the perfect event for you. 

Sacred Music Boot Camp. 

October 15–17, 2020, Live on Zoom

musicasacra.com/bootcamp-2020

It's an entry point into the Church's treasury of sacred music, designed for the average parishioner who's musically inclined, the music director who'd like to begin to bring the beauty of chant and sacred polyphony to your Sunday Masses, or the pastor looking for ideas and resources on how to improve his parish music program.  

Sessions include: 

• The Hierarchy of the Sung Liturgy: When and What to Sing
• How to Read Square Notes
• How to Start a Chant Choir
• The Basics of Conducting Chant
• The Role of the Organ in the Liturgy: When and What to Play + To Accompany Chant or Not? 
• How Did We Get Here? The History of Sacred Music after Vatican II in the U.S.
• COVID-19 Research and Risk Mitigation in Choral Singing
• Building a Music Program Budget

The first three sessions listed above will be offered simultaneously in Spanish for free. 

Also for free are the opening spiritual reflection and Compline of each day. Admission to the other sessions is $30. 

More information and registration are available here. 

We hope to see you there!

CMAA Summer Chant Courses - June 14–19, 2020, University of Florida, Gainesville

The CMAA is proud to present three summer courses for the summer of 2020. All courses will be held concurrently at the University of Florida - Gainesville's Music School June 14–19, 2020.

Register by March 1st for early registration rates!*

Three Courses of Study:

• NEW!!! Advanced Chant / Semiology, Dr. Edward Schaefer, Instructor
• Clear Creek Monastery's Laus in Ecclesia - Level One, Kathy Reinheimer, Instructor
• NEW!!! Clear Creek Monastery's Laus in Ecclesia - Level Two, Br. Mark Bachmann, Instructor 

For details about all four courses, faculty, the schedule for the course, registration and housing information, visit our web page here: SUMMER CHANT COURSES

* Full payment is due by March 1st to receive the Early Registration Rate.

Final Mass of the CMAA Colloquium

The final Mass of the CMAA Colloquium took place yesterday at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, a votive Mass of church’s patron Saints celebrated in the Extraordinary Form by the CMAA’s chaplain, Fr Robert Pasley. The Mass Ordinary was the six-part Missa Tu es Petrus by Palestrina, and motets included Tu es Petrus by Fauré, Ave verum corpus by Philip Stopford, Cantate Domino by Pitoni and Ave Maria by Bruckner. The Conductors pictured are Dr Timothy McDonnell and Charles Cole; the organist was Peter Carter. The final photograph shows the Colloquium participants gathered after the Mass.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Requiem Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the CMAA Colloquium

On Friday at the CMAA Colloquium, a solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated by Fr Michael DeSaye at the Cathedral Basilica of St Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. The Mass Ordinary was the Missa pro defuncto Archiepiscopo Sigismondo by Michael Haydn with orchestra; the conductors pictured are David Hughes and Dr Timothy McDonnell. The soloists were Mary Ann Carr-Wilson, Charlene Angelini (the director of music at the cathedral), Nicholas Lemme and Michael Garrepy. A Requiem Mass is offered each year at the Colloquium for deceased members of the CMAA.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Votive Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the CMAA Colloquium

Yesterday at the Colloquium, a Votive Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated in Spanish by Fr Michael Connolly. The Propers were chanted in Spanish and the Mass setting was La Misa Caça by Cristobal de Morales. Among the motets sung were Ave gratia plena by Cornelius Verdonck, O celestial medicina by Francisco Guerrero and Adoramoste, Señor by Francisco de la Torre. The conductors pictured are Jeffrey Morse and David Hughes; the organist was Nathan Knutson.

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Mass for the Feast of St Thomas, Apostle at the CMAA Colloquium

Yesterday at the CMAA Colloquium, Fr James Richardson offered Mass in the Ordinary Form on the feast of St Thomas the Apostle at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. The Latin propers were sung with Chant Mass IV; among the the motets sung were Quia vidisti me, Thoma by Hassler, Mitte manum by Isaac and O salutaris hostia by Anerio. The choir directors pictured are Nathan Knutson, Dr. Timothy McDonnell and David Hughes; the organist was Michael Garrepy.

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CMAA Chant Intensive with Jeffrey Morse, June 24-28

Once again, the CMAA will be offering the Summer Chant Intensive at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this year from June 24-28. This course has been a valuable springboard for Catholic musicians who wanted to learn more about Gregorian chant, many of whom got their start in directing scholas and choirs because of this course, which was offered for the first time in 2008. The instructor this year will be Jeffrey Morse, who has provided us with this letter that includes more detail about the scope of the program.

“Over the years teaching chant to various groups at the Colloquium, many students had expressed their desire for more Chant instruction, particularly in subjects like the modes, but due to the time limitation of the Colloquium, it was impossible to cover these topics.

If you were one of these students wanting more, the Chant Intensive is for you! The topics of the Chant Intensive are provided on the CMAA website, but I thought that perhaps it might prove helpful to expand a bit on the course description and syllabus, which can be a bit off putting and vague as they are necessarily short and succinct.

The Chant Intensive is offered for everyone, with little or no chant experience, but particularly for those with an intermediate level of knowledge of plainchant and even for the advanced. I think all levels will find something useful in this Intensive. While no chant knowledge, or little is required for the class, some will be helpful as the basics of Chant, the reading of the square notes, the staff, etc. will be done at a fairly good pace, serving as a review for the others in the first sessions. In my experience in teaching over the years, this is fine for beginners, but if you would like to go at a much slower pace, perhaps ‘Laus in Ecclesia Level I’, offered at the same time, might be a better fit.

In the course of the week, we will explore the 8 modes in which Chant is written. Their individual qualities and sounds, using solfège (do, re, mi) to learn the modes and be able to sing them. Modal studies will also focus on examples of Chant representing every mode, the important notes in each, and how over centuries these notes have sometimes changed, as well as the psalm-tone for each mode. In the learning of the psalm-tones, or the little melodies to which the psalms are sung, we will learn how exactly the psalms are sung to each of these melodies and the rules of ‘Pointing’ accents and preparatory syllables that make it possible. Emphasis too, will be placed on how a good unified, choral tone is cultivated, as well as good basic vocal techniques helpful for those students with choirs or even for themselves! The simple and natural rhythm of Chant, from the simple syllabic chants of the Ordinary of the Mass and Gregorian hymns, to the melismatic glories of the alleluias and Graduals and everything in between will be explored thoroughly in singing through as much of the Gregorian repertoire as possible, with time spent on teaching the direction of Chant (chironomy), with students able to practice the direction techniques learned with the group.

Lastly, we will be returning to the very sources of the Chant in a basic introduction to the reading of the notation of the St Gall school (9th century) which is the earliest notation in the Western world. We will talk about how these manuscripts helped in the melodic restoration of the Chant in the late 19th and early 20th century by the monks of Solesmes, and we will discover how their amazing subtleties, not carried through in the square note notation of later centuries, can inform and finesse our interpretation of the Chant breathing freshness, light, and life into the sacred texts it serves.

A folio of the Antiphonary of Hartker, San Gallen Codex 390, with the beginning of the first repsonsory of the ecclesiastical year, Aspiciens a longe. (Click here to listen to a recording of this beautiful piece, conducted by Dr Morse.)

For those wanting a more thorough grounding and exposure to Gregorian Chant than what is possible at the Colloquium, this class is for you. I am grateful to the CMAA for offering the Chant Intensive each year, for I can think of nowhere else where such a complete education in the Chant is offered in such a concentrated fashion. With this class, it is hoped that the students will gain the confidence and skills to form and direct their own scholas or choirs, or become better directors of already existing ones, to bring this unparalleled music of the Church forward to our parishes and future generations, this music with its unique and singular ability to lift minds and hearts to God.

Looking forward to seeing old friends at the Chant Intensive and making new ones, singing with you all and passing it on! See you in Pittsburgh!”

Interview with the CMAA Coming up on EWTN

The EWTN program “Church Universal” will feature two interviews with officers of the Church Music Association of America, Fr Pasley, Horst Bucholtz, and Prof. William Mahrt. They will be broadcast on Sunday, March 3 and 10 at 5 p.m. EST, with repeats on Tuesday, March 5 and 12 at 5 a.m. EST, and on Wednesday, March 6 and 13 at 6:30 p.m. EST. The interviews will be conducted by Fr Joseph Mary Wolfe and will discuss a range of topics related to the mission of the CMAA. The program can be viewed on the EWTN network on many cable services, but it can also be seen live at the above days and times on the EWTN website at www.EWTN.com.

Now I Walk In Beauty

We are delighted to post Jeffrey Morse's review of the CMAA's latest publication, Now I Walk In Beauty by Wilko Brouwers. To purchase this new book, please visit the CMAA Shop.

Now I Walk In Beauty: 100 Songs and Melodies for School and Choir Collected and edited by Wilko Brouwers, published by The Church Music Association of America, 2017

The appearance of any new material for the Ward Method is newsworthy, and this latest songbook from Wilko Brouwers, coming nearly 40 years after the last revision of the Ward Method books by by Dr. Theodore Marier, is certainly no exception and breathes an invigorating freshness into a musical method that has been long awaited. The Ward Method, created by Justine Bayard Ward (1879-1975), is a method for the teaching of music to children through singing as both “method and goal” as Brouwers points out in his introduction, using the well known rhythmic gestures of the method which interiorize in the child the “arsis” and “thesis” of the melodic line. These rhythmic gestures help the child to, as Brouwers writes, “experience the inner development within one tone toward the next tone, or within one group of tones toward the next group”. The Ward Method also uses a rather unique method of teaching solfeggio, built upon the previous work of Fr. Thomas Shields, Fr. John B. Young, S.J., and surprisingly, Jean- Jacques Rousseau, the 18th century French philosopher. The Ward Method, starting in the earliest grades, as a twenty minute class, five days a week, eventually leads the child to a mastery of both Gregorian Chant and its notation and to modern notation and singing, with the ability to easily sight-sing in either notation. It also leads to a facility in rhythmic and melodic dictation, improvisation, and to creating a beautiful and well-rounded tone in singing.

Despite its proven success, and arguably, its superiority over other methods like Orff and Kodaly, its popularity and influence started to wane in the years after the Second Vatican Council, with most of the international Ward Centers closing: Cambridge (U.K.), Paris, New Zealand, Belgium, and others. The abandonment of Gregorian Chant and the shrinking number of school sisters in the wake of the Council, seemed to signal the end of this amazing and proven method of teaching music. The Ward Method books were revised after the death of Justine Ward, and have been kept in print by the Catholic University of America Press, and classes in the method are still offered there as well as at the University of Northern Colorado. In the last number of years there has been a revival of interest in the Ward Method, perhaps because of the renewed interest in Gregorian Chant and the growing homeschooling movement, not to mention in various schools where it is also used.

Now I Walk in Beauty: 100 Songs and Melodies for School and Choir, has arrived at just the right time. While hymn books and song books have always been part of the pedagogy of the Ward Method, many of them, if not most, are now out of print, available only rarely in used book shops. Now I Walk in Beauty, fills a void as a new Ward songbook, with songs both sacred and secular, reflecting the way the method has always taught music. The collection is comprehensive, and comprises folk songs (e.g. Arkansas Traveller, The Skye Boat Song, Little Red Bird), Sacred Hymns, both Latin and English (e.g. Puer Nobis Nascitur, Cor Jesus, Eternal Father, O God Our Help in Ages Past) as well as folk songs in other languages. It also includes music for the main liturgical season of the year: Advent, Christmas, Easter etc. The pieces in this book are delightful, and could easily be used at Mass or other services, at a school choir concert, or just for for the fun of singing. The collection of 100 songs and melodies starts with the simplest two-note melody and the pieces then progress in difficulty until number 100: “Stella Splendens”, a brilliant little two-part medieval piece from the 14th century Liber Vermell. It is clear that Wilko Brouwers has gone to great trouble to search out some of the most beautiful music to include in this collection; some things are familiar, but many others more obscure and rare, and not often found in collections of music, if at all.

The collection is most obviously “Ward” in the first 40 songs: numbers are used for the solfeggio names (e.g. 1=“Doh”, 2=“Re”, 3=“Fa”, etc.), partial staves of one, two or three lines are used, the “Doh” clef is used on the modern staff, and the “rhythmic waves” are included, showing arsis and thesis. The other 60 songs are presented primarily without any obvious Ward Method devices, weaning the student from some of the supports of earlier pedagogy, however one could still have the singers use solfeggio to discover the melody. Indeed this would be expected in the method, mentally placing the “doh” clef on “G” when the key signature has one sharp, for example, or perhaps drawing in with pencil the arsis and thesis. This said, a thorough knowledge of the Ward Method, or even a cursory knowledge is certainly not needed to use this book in your school or church choir, or in teaching music at home. Despite its value to Ward teachers and students, there is no reason why this splendid volume shouldn't be used by all in the musical education of children. The musical levels covered in this collection are from the very beginning of musical education through the students ability to solfege major scale melodies and minor ones (based on “LA”). The inspiring music in this collection will doubtless leave the student wanting to discover even more.

Included in this collection are end-notes on nearly every piece, giving provenance and history as well as interesting facts, as well as a separate section entitled “What’s New in Each Melody”, giving pedagogical insights for each melody (suggested pitch, intonation/solfeggio, rhythmic gestures and hints about notation used). This is a fabulous collection, certainly one to thrill the hearts of Ward teachers and their students, coming from one of the great teachers of the Ward Method. This new book, it is hoped, will certainly do much to excite interest in the method amongst those who are not familiar with it, and one can only hope that this is only the beginning of a succession of new materials to help revitalize this amazing teaching method, and fulfil the hope that ‘all might sing’.

Jeffrey Morse

Jeffrey Morse Studied Gregorian Chant and Ward Method with Dr Mary Berry (Mother Thomas More, CRSA), and was a Ward Method student of Dr Alise Brown at the University of Northern Colorado, and has been regularly a member of the faculty of the CMAA