Views from the Choir Loft

Fota X Conference (and other Summer Opportunities)

Fr. David Friel · May 7, 2017

DD ANOTHER event to the list of liturgy conferences planned for this summer. In addition to Sacra Liturgia Milano, the CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium, the Los Angeles Sacred Music Symposium, and the Wethersfield Institute Chant Workshop, the annual Fota Conference has just been announced.

For the tenth consecutive year, liturgical scholars, students, and enthusiasts will gather in Cork, Ireland for a three-day conference hosted by the St. Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy. You can view my recap of last year’s excellent Fota IX conference, which I was fortunate to attend.

The subject for this year’s Fota conference is Resourcing the Prayers of the Roman Liturgy: Patristic Sources. Papers will be delivered by speakers including: Prof. Manfred Hauke (Lugano), Prof. Dieter Boehler (Frankfurt), Fr. Joseph Briody (Boston, MA), Gregory diPippo (New Liturgical Movement), Dr. Johannes Nebel (Austria), Fr. Jao-Paolo Mendanca Dantas, (Fortaleza, Brazil), and Fr. Kevin Zilverberg (St. Paul, MN).

For those keeping score at home, here is a chronological lineup of liturgy-related opportunities for Summer 2017:

Sacra Liturgia – Milan, Italy (June 6-9)

CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium – St. Paul, MN (June 19-24)

Sacred Music Symposium – Los Angeles, CA (June 26-30)

CMAA Ward Method Summer Course – Pittsburgh, PA (June 26-30)

Wethersfield Institute Chant Workshop – Amenia, NY (June 27-30)

Teaching Gregorian Chant to Children – St. Joseph’s Seminary Dunwoodie (July 5-8)

Fota X Conference – Cork, Ireland (July 8-10)

This summer will see chant activity in a wide array of areas: East coast, West coast, Midwest, Ireland, and Italy. Each of these events promises to introduce the treasury of the Church’s music to many new people. These workshops will also deepen the knowledge and experience of many folks already working with chant in their parishes and institutions.

The placement of these opportunities across the United States and Europe is very good news for the renewal of sacred music. It is simple evidence that there is a widespread need being met. May the Lord bring forth much fruit from each of these events!

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

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Luis Martínez Must Go!

Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

—Jeff Ostrowski

Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!

A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Pope Pius XII Hymnal?

Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

“Hybrid” Chant Notation?

Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Antiphons Don’t Match?

A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).

—Corpus Christi Watershed