Easter Sunday Music Packet

The link below is a for the Easter Sunday Music Packet. I will also send this by email. Please print this out to bring for rehearsal on Sunday April 10th. The only piece which is not in the packet is the Handel Anthem "Thine is the glory"...I have bound copies of that at the church which I can give you on Sunday. The first page of this packet is an agenda for the service, I will let you know what the hymns are so you can pencil them in once that has been decided.

Easter Sunday Packet

Thanks again! 

First rehearsal down, not many to go....

Thanks to all who were able to make are Holy Week rehearsal this weekend. With us already being half way through Lent, we will have to make all of them count. The Easter packet is not finished yet but here is a taste of what will be in there.

Thine is the glory, Handel (A little more simple than this version)



Hail thee festival day, Ralph Vaughn Williams (Not all 700 verses...)

The next official rehearsal will take place next week after Mass. I understand that many of you cannot make that, but those who can please assemble afterwards for a quick practice of music. After that this is the tentative schedule:

Sunday April 10th

Sunday April 17th

Wednesday, April 20th

Easter Sunday Morning at 8:30

Thanks!

Maundy Thursday Choir Packet

For all of those who plan on singing with us on Maundy Thursday (April 21st), here is the packet of music which we will sing out of. There will be a few hymns as well which will be picked at a later time.

Maundy Thursday Choir Packet

 Most of it is English chant for the Propers of the Mass, which we will split up between men, women, and the youth; some we will all sing together, like the Ubi Caritas (Where Charity and Love Are). Here is the Latin version of that piece, the melody is pretty much identical:

The final page is the O Sacrum Convivium which I posted earlier this week. I will email sound files to you of each part so that you can hear your individual line. I apologize but I could not get them posted to this site. I will post an Easter packet as soon as it is all figured out. Let's see how we do during our first practice...which leads me to.....

Last order of business, I will send out an email as well (as not everyone has yet to follow this site), but if you could leave a comment on this post if you would be available to have the first practice on Sunday the 27th after Mass. I am hoping to rehearse all Sunday's that do not have already scheduled meetings. If you can not make every single Sunday we practice, do not worry. Please try to make at least 3 between now and Holy Week. We will probably also practice for an extended period on Palm Sunday and before the Liturgy on Maundy Thursday. Other times that would work for a majority of you, please let me know.

Thanks again for your time and commitment, and thanks to Rose who will be singing the Propers this week as I am out of town.

English Chant

You will all be hearing a lot more chant around the liturgy at St. Bartholomew's, and I think it is important to point out a few things:

1) Chant melodies were originally written for the Latin texts of the early Church. Derived from Jewish and Greek songs, Gregorian Chant continued to evolve throughout the Middle Ages into the modern era.

2) That being said, singing chant to English text is a little more difficult. The Psalm Tone settings of the English Propers which is found in the Anglican Use Gradual make it easy by usually applying one note or neum per syllable in a phrase. However there is chant which is known as melismatic, which applies many notes per syllable. Because of this, the English language does not always have syllables that sound good within the word being sung for 12 different pitches.

So in conclusion, English chant has been mastered by some by shaping the syllables a bit differently and singing in a bright tone. This video of the Westminster Cathedral Choir singing the Psalms at Evensong is a wonderful example of how I would like all of us to work on singing chant in the liturgy. Please watch and enjoy!

Westminster Cathedral Psalms

Schola Beginnings

It was wonderful to talk to all of those who approached me this morning after mass. I'm glad to see so many committing to this cause for Sacred Music in the Liturgy. Go ahead and click on "Follow" if you are still interested in singing with us.

We are still continuing to look for boys and girls who will fulfill the role as our main sopranos. I have already talk to at least 3, if there are anymore out there let me know.

Due to meetings next week and the fact I will be gone to work on my other profession (Pro Soccer), we will not begin practicing until the last week of March. However, I hope to leave some music at the church that will be available for you to take home. Everything else will be posted here. Please make sure to comment if you have any trouble downloading anything.

Thanks again for your time and here is the first piece we will begin working on the Maundy Thursday.

O Sacrum Convivium - Remondi

 The video cuts out the first 2 measures, but it was the best I could find vocal wise. Enjoy!