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Views from the Choir Loft

In the Beauty of Holiness: Music and the Transcendent

Fr. David Friel · October 8, 2017

HILADELPHIA is home to a fascinating organization called the International Institute for Culture (IIC). Their website describes the non-profit as a research center devoted to promoting international understanding through cultural means. Practically, this means that the IIC hosts conferences and concerts, art exhibits and Oktoberfests, and even courses in Latin and Greek.

At the heart of the IIC’s vision for culture is the Catholic Faith. As their website explains:

The purpose of IIC is not to advance the idea that it is possible to restore some ideal Christian past. There never has been one. Rather, it is to look at the way in which the Faith has shaped cultures in the past and the culture in which we live today, the manner in which it preserved and elevated whatever was good and noble in any culture which it encountered and repudiated whatever debased the human spirit. With such knowledge and with a commitment to the Redeemer of Culture, we can begin working together to build the new “civilization of love.”

Recently announced is a new program of talks at the IIC, billed as a “Sunday Brunch and Lecture Series.” Building upon an earlier lecture series that focused on art and architecture, this new series finds its focus in music and kicks off next week.

In the Beauty of Holiness: Music and the Transcendent

Sunday, October 15, 2017
The Unity of Ascent: Musical Supplication and Redemption in Early Modern Venice
Dr. Sara Pecknold, Musicologist, The Catholic University of America

Sunday, November 5, 2017
Pedro de Gante and the Creation of Euro-Aztec Catholic Song in Sixteenth Century Mexico
Dr. Lorenzo Candelaria, Music Historian, University of Texas at El Paso

Sunday, December 3, 2017
Gregorian Chant and the Spirit of Liturgical Prayer
Dr. Timothy McDonnell, Director of the Institute of Sacred Music, The Catholic University of America

Sunday, January 7, 2018
The Language of Music to Address the Holy
Mark Bradford, former Director of Sacred Music, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Sunday, February 4, 2018
Pythagoras, Bach, and Universal Harmony in the Great B-Minor Mass
Dr. Lorenzo Candelaria, Music Historian, University of Texas at El Paso

Sunday, March 4, 2018
Music in Honor of San Gennaro: Early Modern Martyr, Miracle Worker, and Musical Protagonist
Dr. Anthony DelDonna, Musicologist, Georgetown University

Sunday, April 8, 2018
The Island of Catholic Exuberance in Protestant Germany: Music of the Dresden Court
Dr. Timothy McDonnell, Director of the Institute of Sacred Music, The Catholic University of America

For each of these events, brunch will be served at 12:45 PM at Ivy Hall (6331 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19151), which follows the 11:30 AM Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church nearby. The lectures will begin at 2 PM, and the suggested donation is $15/person or $35/family to defray the cost of the brunch and lecture.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Gregorian Chant, Johann Sebastian Bach 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.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“A penalty is decreed against clerics, who, being in sacred Orders, or holding benefices, do not wear a dress befitting their Order. […] In these days, the contempt of religion has grown to such a pitch that—making but little account of their own dignity, and of the clerical honor—some even wear in public the dress of laymen…”

— ‘Council of Trent (Session 14, Chapter 6)’

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