Views from the Choir Loft

Report • Hong Kong Summer Choral Workshops

Andrew Leung · September 7, 2017

HAVEN’T BEEN POSTING too much lately and I apologize for that. I have been very busy with the following workshops. In August, I conducted two Summer Choral Workshops for church singers in Hong Kong. The workshops were about six hours long and about fifty singers participated. Participants were introduced to traditional sacred music, both Gregorian chant and polyphony, of the Catholic Church. Both workshops were concluded with Sung Masses in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Here are some pictures from the workshops and the Masses

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LEARNED A LOT in this workshop through teaching and it was amazing to be able to work with church singers in Hong Kong again (I did a similar workshop last summer). A lot of the participants come from regular parish choirs, and most of them don’t have the chance to sing chant and polyphony in a regular basis. It was definitely an unforgettable experience for many to be able to sing choral pieces by European masters like: Tallis, Byrd, Allegri, Rheinberger and Faure. We were also very grateful to Dr. Peter Kwasniewski for allowing us to use his setting of Tantum Ergo during one of the workshops.

Here is a recording of Gregorio Allegri’s Adoremus in Aeternum, which we sang during communion on the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Keep in mind that participants rarely get the opportunity to sing pieces like this and the recordings never do justice to the actual sound. The piece is fairly simple, especially for small church choirs, and is suitable to be sung during communion and Eucharistic adoration. It is available for free download on Choral Public Domain Library.

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

About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(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