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Views from the Choir Loft

Learning Latin in the new millennium

Veronica Brandt · August 30, 2014

Ave Maria cards HAT BETTER WAY TO SPEND A Saturday than by preparing lessons for next week. There is a common misunderstanding that teachers have short working days and lots of holidays, but any teacher will tell you that the preparations make up for that completely.

They are right.

I have posted before about my attempts teaching a little Latin to children in order to understand the prayers we sing in choir. We have made flashcards, had class quizzes, played bingo, made crossword puzzles, all to try to reach that point where I can ask a child “What does Sanctus mean” to hear the reply “Holy”.

Memrise That wonderful goal – Psallite sapienter – praying with understanding. To see young children catch a glimpse of the amazing reality of prayer, that is the aim.

These two photos show two very different approaches. One shows old fashioned cards with my own handwritten Latin illustrated with pictures cut from old calendars and magazines. This was surprisingly effective, with the younger class insisting on laying them all out in order, checking what each one meant.

The other photo shows a screenshot from a online course on memrise which is much the same sort of thing, except in a shiny webpage.

Memrise uses spaced repetition to make sure each new piece of information soaks into your brain. It sends out reminders by email to return and reinforce vocabulary little by little, bit by bit. It has the patience of a mindless computer, enhanced by ultra-cute design and social features to help keep you engaged.

I put together the course on the Salve Regina fairly quickly over the space of a few hours. It was very easy to add terms and then record audio for each one. One of my sons was curious so I set him up to try it out. He wasn’t very enthusiastic – it seems there is a certain demographic that requires explosions and fast cars to really pull them in, but even he completed the given session. It is made to be very easy to take.

So, there you go. Two ideas for learning the Latin of prayers. Neither is very exhausting or exhaustive. They simply show how one word corresponds to another in meaning. They won’t turn out Latin scholars, but maybe this is the sort of ground work that makes later studies a little easier.

And maybe help someone answer the perennial question “What does Sanctus mean?”

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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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— Pope St. John Paul II

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