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Views from the Choir Loft

Colloquium 2016 • Day 2

Fr. David Friel · June 22, 2016

OLLOQUIUM participants had a wonderful day on Tuesday. For those who have never attended a Colloquium, the general format involves morning chant rehearsals and afternoon polyphony rehearsals. Mixed in are usually a keynote address and a variety of breakout sessions. In the late afternoon, the chant and polyphony choirs sing the music they have been rehearsing for the day’s Mass.

The chant choir I chose this year is the one led by Wilko Brouwers. I have sung with him before, and my strongest recollection is that he is a man of many images. In our first rehearsal, he came through with several new images to help express certain points he was making. I’ll share with you just two of them.

First, Maestro Wilko was speaking to us about the natural pace of the chant. He encouraged us to think of every chant as a reaching out to what lies beyond, as if, he said, the most important note is just ahead, just around the next corner. In that way, the chanting stays lively throughout and maintains good pace.

The second image he gave concerns how to handle incipits. We were singing an introit, and when it came to the psalm verse, he paused our group of cantors at the incipit. Sometimes, he warned us, there is a tendency to give too much attention to these initial clusters of notes. When singing a psalm tone, though, Brouwers encouraged us to begin with a certain buoyancy that longs to reach the reciting tone. He compared singing the incipit to holding a ball under water and releasing it. Just as the ball moves in a clear and eager direction toward the surface, so should the chanter have a destination beyond the incipit in mind.

In the breakouts, I attended the new music session, moderated by David Hughes. There were no ladies in attendance, but a few talented male singers enabled us to sing through some SATB pieces. One piece I especially enjoyed was a setting of the Reproaches by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski. Once the piece is polished to his satisfaction, I hope someday he will publish this new work.

Mass was celebrated beautifully by Fr. Jason Schumer, who has served as a professor of liturgy at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. In his homily, he reminded us of deeply significant words from the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. He referenced this statement of the council fathers:

Every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree. (Sacrosanctum Concilium #7)

It is important for us to remember that nothing we do in life is greater than the worship we offer to God. It is the constant worship of God, after all, that is the life of heaven.

Much more lies in store during our days in Saint Louis. I look forward to sharing my highlights soon!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Church Music Association of America CMAA, Gregorian Chant, Sacred Music Colloquium Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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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!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —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. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —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

Random Quote

“If we continue to tolerate sad examples of liturgical abnormalities, experimentation, abuse, and simply poor-quality liturgies, why should we single out those connected to the ancient rites of the Church for special vigilance? It just doesn’t seem right.”

— An Example of a response (sent to Pope Francis) Re: the TLM

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