In our latest episode, we tackle the development of the Kyriale, that section of the Liber Usualis and the Graduale Romanum, which includes the chants of the Mass Ordinary: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, etc. We give some specifics, as well as the cultural and ecclesiastical trends that made the groupings we now know (18 Masses, Credos, ad libitum section) possible, and touch on the impact this organization of the liturgy had on the development of the polyphonic mass.
It is a splendid thing to compile and record an album of late Renaissance Venetian choral music, especially since the ordinary forces of parish choirs (and even cathedral choirs) can only occasionally muster enough musical forces to mount this mostly polychoral repertoire. There is certainly much to choose from in the programming, for the end of the 16th century and beginning of the 17th witnessed a prodigious production of masterpieces emanating from the lofts of St Mark’s Basilica, many of which had a profound effect on the course of Western music history as it evolved into the various Baroque styles.
Even more splendid, however, is to produce an album with such an interesting and varied program, sung magnificently entirely by choristers brought up from within the ranks of just one school in London.
We find such an album in the recent Sacred Treasures of Venice, released on the Hyperion label, with NLM’s own Charles Cole directing the boys of the London Oratory Schola Cantorum - no hired ringers here! Featuring the music of three Giovannis (Bassano, Croce, and Gabrieli), alongside the older Gabrieli (Andrea), Claudio Merulo, and Giacomo Finetti, this album draws together compositions which run the gamut of affective expressivity, and compass conventional harmonies as well as daring experiments in late Renaissance voice leading. The honesty of the sound accompanies the wonder of what the boys can produce under so able a tutor and conductor as they have in Mr. Cole.
Some of my favorites on the album are Croce’s In spiritu humilitatis, a setting of the prayer from the Offertory of the Mass, with its earnestly homophonic setting of the text, a fitting musical offering to accompany the sacrifice offered at the altar by its priest composer.
In spiritu humilitatis et in animo contrito suscipiamur a te, Domine: et sic fiat sacrificium nostrum in conspectu tuo hodie, ut placeat tibi, Domine Deus.
In the spirit of humility and with contrite heart, may we be accepted by Thee, o Lord, and grant that the sacrifice which we offer this day in Thy sight may be pleasing to Thee, o Lord God.
And, of course, there is the masterpiece O quam suavis Giovanni Gabrieli, which paints the text in a harmonically sophisticated manner.
O quam suavis est, Domine, spiritus tuus,
qui ut dulcedinem tuam in filios demonstrares
pane suavissimo de caelo præstito,
esurientes reples bonis,
fastidiosos divites dimittens inanes.
O how sweet, O Lord, is thy spirit,
who, to show thy tenderness to thy children,
feedest them with thy sweetest bread from heaven,
feeding the hungry with good things,
and sending the disdainful rich away empty.
I had the opportunity to chat with Charles about the album’s music, composers, and singers on a recent episode of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast, which includes some clips from the album. Do give this latest album in the Sacred Treasures series produced by the schola a listen—it is inspiring in every aspect.
Our season kicks off with an inspiring discussion with Fr. Christopher Smith about his work with his parish school, their excellent liturgies, strong Catholic identity, and welcoming spirit. A wonderfully engaging interview with Dr. Thomas Forrest Kelly (Harvard) covers some of the topics from his excellent book, Capturing Music: The Story of Notation. The hot topic of church musician burnout (and the related clergy burnout) is covered in the third episode. Episode four is a very special interview with one of the foremost improvisers and composers in the French tradition, Naji Hakim.
Access the episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, Spotify, iHeart Radio, YouTube, Stitcher, or most any podcast app.
The fourth season of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast has been published, and the upcoming weeks promise many excellent interviews. Check out the three episodes so far from this season, and look for several episodes per week over the upcoming weeks. The podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon, and other platforms.
quare Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast is back after a winter hiatus, and we’ve got some great episodes available for you in season 3. Episode 7, “Modality in Gregorian Chant” with Dr. William Mahrt, offers tools for analyzing Gregorian chant, especially with a mind to unlocking the meaning of the text as it is set in the music.
In episode 8, an interview with Dr Francis Brancaleone, we look at a model institution for sacred music education, the Pius X School of Liturgical Music at Manhattanville College.
The brilliant Renaissance scholar Dr Kerry McCarthy offers us a view of Reformation-era liturgical changes in England through the lens of the composer Thomas Tallis in episode 9.
Russophiles will enjoy episode 10’s discussion, with Dr. Richard Fountain, of Russian bell ringing and chant, and their impact on the compositions of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
A pre-eminent composer of our times, Sir James MacMillan offers listeners profound insights into the nature of music, its ability to speak and to move the heart and soul, and its invaluable place in the sacred liturgy, as well as on the concert stage. We hope you’ll tune in for the first episode of season 3 of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast.
In light of the current situation, many parishes are looking at an opportunity to introduce the sung proper chants in their Masses, change out old hymnals for new resources, or implement the chants of the Roman Missal. Where does one start when thinking about the best way to improve a music program? How can you bring people along, deepening their faith as the music program becomes more robust? As we wrap up season 2 of Square Notes, episode 19 with Dr. Mary Jane Ballou addresses these questions.
Episode 18 takes you behind the scenes of the exciting new Neumz project, its app, its largest-in-history recording project, and the life of the sisters at Notre Dame de Fidelité in Jouques, France.
Episode 20, our final episode for this season, presents a homily by Dom Mark Kirby, OSB, founding prior of Silverstream Priory in Ireland, about the chants for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost. In it, you'll find a robust model for Lectio Divina and biblical exegesis when meditating on a chant.
Episode 18 – 7000+ Hours of Gregorian Chant: Behind the Scenes at the Neumz Project – with John Anderson & Alberto Díaz-Blanco
Recorded at the 2019 CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium in Philadelphia, we discuss important questions for pastors and music directors as they look at the overall health of a parish and their parishioners. How does a music program encourage the development of spiritual friendships? How do choirs contribute to a friendly atmosphere in the parish? Can spending more money on a music program actually contribute to a more stable parish budget? Joining Peter Carter and me in a round table discussion are Mary Ann Carr Wilson, Charles Cole, and Fr. Robert Pasley.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
Dr. Crista Miller tackles this question in the latest bonus episode of Square Notes. After discussing some basic differences in finger technique between the two instruments, she talks about pedaling, registration, and good repertoire for the pianist learning the organ.
For those pianists interested in learning to play the organ, check out Dr. Miller’s class that she’ll be teaching online August 3 to 7 through St. Joseph’s Seminary.
And if you’re looking for a short list of books that would be helpful in the transition, check out the one she’s provided here.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
In the latest bonus episode of Square Notes, we offer over forty resources for music directors looking for ideas about what to do while there are restrictions on sacred music put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s not for the casual listener, and we don’t go into any virology or epidemiology, but for the music director in search of music to sing and play when faced with limitations, we hope you’ll find this helpful. For a link to all the resources mentioned in the episode and more, click here.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
We’re drawing a very productive month at Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast to a close, and we hope you’ll find the fruits of our labors edifying and enjoyable. Check out the topics and recordings of our episodes below, including the recordings from the 4-part webinar on chanting monastic vespers (the fourth part of which featured NLM’s own Gregory DiPippo).
Click on the titles of episodes below for the links to the YouTube versions, or click on the embedded players for the audio-only source files.
What are the top five things that people don’t understand when it comes to sacred music? In this first part of a two-part episode, we take time to give a substantive response to what many Catholics might not know or don’t get right about music for the sacred liturgy. We look at liturgical and philosophical principles that have been fleshed out through the centuries as the Church has guided musicians in building up the treasury of sacred music, and spend some time on insights from Church documents.
Are you looking for an authentically Catholic curriculum and method for teaching music to children? Something that’s practical, fun, and helps children to grow in love of the Church’s sacred music? This bonus episode looks at the history of the development of the Ward method, its underlying educational principles, its place in Catholic education, and the experience both of those who learn to teach with the method, as well as that of children who learn music using the method. Our guest is Mr. Kevin Collins, an NYC actor and father.
On this episode, we discuss matters of liturgical formation, both for musicians, as well as for those we serve. Dom Alcuin Reid is the founding Prior of the Monastère Saint-Benoît in the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France, and a liturgical scholar of international renown. His principle work, The Organic Development of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2005) carries a preface by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
Dom Alcuin’s Address at the 2019 Sacred Music Colloquium is available here.
Franz Liszt, haunted by the spectre of God’s grace, was never able to fully shake off his Catholic faith. Our guest, Dr. Jay Hershberger, the president of the American Liszt Society, shares with us a Catholic portrait of the pianist and composer’s life, highlighting his story of conversion, his later years in fervent practice of his faith, his compositions about various Catholic topics and music for the liturgy, and even about his non-musical writings about the theological issues of the day.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
We’ve settled into a Sunday posting routine, and we’ve releases our first-ever bonus episode this week. Listeners can expect an additional bonus episode this week about the Ward method for teaching Gregorian chant to children.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
We’ve settled into a more regular posting regimen at Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast, releasing a new episode each Sunday evening. Here are the latest!
In episode 11, we discuss life as a Catholic under the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and look at what makes Tudor era polyphony tick, as well as how Byrd’s music evolved throughout his life. Our guest is the renowned expert on these topics, Dr. Kerry McCarthy.
In episode 12, we look at the process of producing an illuminated chant manuscript, and the role this process played in the lives of monastics, as well as what the modern person can take away from the medium. Mrs. Elizabeth Lemme of Pelican Printery House shared with us a little bit about her own growth in faith through this artistic medium, as well as her expertise in all its details.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
On the latest episode of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast, we interview the sagacious Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, inspired by this excellent article she wrote back in 2006 for the St. Austin Review, “Wrong Approaches to Art.”
Dr. von Hildebrand, from the privileged vantage point of her many years on this side of heaven, shares what she sees as key in perceiving beauty, and it is the same key that undergirds a proper celebration of the sacred liturgy, and the love of a Christian for spouse, child, or stranger: reverence. We hope you’ll tune in for the wisdom she shares in this episode.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
The latest episode of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast has just been released.
Our guest for this episode is the fantastic titular organist of Notre Dame, Olivier Latry, who gives us an assessment of the damage and what to look for in the road ahead. He also discusses the development of the instrument and its role in the sacred liturgy, and the development of the organ repertoire.
For more information about the Introduction to the Organ for Pianists class this summer at St. Joseph’s Seminary, click here: www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
The latest episode of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast examines the origins of the organ in the Roman rite, and the theological basis for its acceptance into a religion that considers the human voice as its primary instrument. If you’ve been looking for a primer in the Church’s understanding of the pipe organ, or for a way to explain the mens Ecclesiæ to people in your parish, give this episode a listen. Our guest is Dr. Nathan Knutson, Director of Sacred Music at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
And if you’re enjoying the podcast, please consider leaving us a review and rating on iTunes; it helps others find us!
The Carmelite of Dijon, St Élisabeth of the Trinity, was a truly remarkable soul, with great spiritual treasures to offer, especially to musicians and those devoted in a particular way to the promotion of the sacred liturgy. Her desire to become the laus gloriæ of God seems to perfectly encapsulate the goal every Christian ought have, especially when entering into the worship of God.
In the latest episode of Square Notes, Dr Anthony Lilles draws out those elements of St Élisabeth’s personality and writings that make her particularly sympathetic to the artistic soul. We discuss how she provides insights into the profound consolation offered by the presence of the Most Blessed Trinity in every soul in the state of grace. I’d heartily recommend her writings to anyone looking to deepen their prayer lives, and draw the readers’ attentions specifically to the “retreat” writings she created for her sister, a busy married woman with children. They are a set of twenty meditations, two per day for ten days. Dr. Lilles has produced a series specifically on this retreat, which I also strongly recommend.
Thw workshop will be held on Saturday, March 14th, and run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including talks and rehearsal, culminating in singing for the 4:00 p.m. Mass. The workshop and Mass will be at Holy Trinity parish in Cohoes, New York, which is just up the river a bit from Albany and Troy. Registration is available here.
Lovers of the Divine Office and the book of Psalms will find many pearls of wisdom in the words of Dom Benedict Andersen, a priest-monk of Silverstream priory. Take a listen to the latest episode of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast to hear him discuss the concept of fulfillment, the Christologically-meaningful appointment of the Psalms in the liturgical cycle, and the value of the writings of the Church Fathers and the allegorical method in understanding the scriptures.
You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.
