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Views from the Choir Loft

Maternal Heart of Mary Chapel (Sydney, Australia)

Veronica Brandt · April 13, 2013

F YOU WERE TO ASK ME why I attend the Latin Mass, I could wax lyrical over many different aspects that I now enjoy, but the reason I came to enjoy them was the Maternal Heart of Mary Church, Lewisham.

The liturgy there is beautiful.

Sunday Mass usually begins with a rousing organ prelude. Then the priest intones the asperges (or vidi aquam in paschaltide) and then the rumbling ground swell of the congregation joining the song. The singing suddenly drops off as the cantor takes up the psalm verse solo then the people come back in. The priest chants the prayers that follow answered with the same surround sound singing. Then the choir takes up the introit and the ethereal melody washes over the congregation as they kneel for the prayers at the foot of the altar.

And that is just the beginning.

It was strange to begin with. Sitting next to someone who knew where we were up to helped a lot. People were happy to hang around and talk after Mass and there were always new details to uncover. It took a while to get comfortable but now that’s my ideal. I can’t travel all the way there regularly, but I still go to a Latin Mass because it could be like that.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The replies to this committee (of which Mgr Bugnini was the secretary) reveal a desire to reform the liturgy. In what sense? Out of 2,109 responses from bishops, just three expressed the desire to restore Communion under both kinds. There was a sizable demand for limited use of the vernacular, but only one French bishop wanted the entire Mass in French.”

— Fr. Dominic Allain (2019)

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