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Views from the Choir Loft

Isabella Marie • “My Personal Testimony”

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 28, 2022

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HAVE NOT studied music for long, but I never knew a time without music in my life. Whether it was through dancing, playing piano, or listening to music at leisure, music was a deeply absorbing fascination. A basic, amateurish music education coupled with an unquenchable curiosity led me to start pursuing a Music degree with an emphasis in Composition.

Beyond My Imagination • The Sacred Music Symposium more than satisfied my craving for knowledge, taught me what is considered Sacred Music, improved my singing, stressed to me the important role of the choir during the Holy Mass, gave me insights into the composition of Sacred Music, and provided me with more resources to access it. It went beyond anything I ever thought of or expected from a five-day event, and it opened my mind to the world of Sacred Music—a world I was wholly unaware of before this summer.

Impressive & Invaluable • At the symposium, I learned from incredible, experienced musicians who are genuinely passionate about sacred music. The sheer amount of work that was put into the symposium booklets and each presentation, along with the knowledge they’ve acquired over years of directing, was impressive and invaluable. It was very stimulating to learn from Jeff Ostrowski and watch his zeal for music, to witness Dr. Alfred Calabrese’s stirring conducting and concentrated instruction, to see Richard Clark and Charles Weaver work with such gusto, and a privilege to sing Kevin Allen’s transcendent pieces. The entire thing was put together by Andrea Leal—and it went off without a hitch—with the assistance of the church’s magnificent organist William Fritz, a thoughtful and gentle person.

Extraordinary Form “Newbie” • From someone relatively new to the Traditional Latin Mass and singing in Latin, it was wonderful and inspiring to see so many well-seasoned musicians, choir directors, and volunteers from different parishes across the country and beyond so passionate about sacred music. When I joined a choir at a parish a little over a month before the symposium, I was exposed to singing chant and hymns. I had experience with choir at the university, but had never sung Gregorian chant. It was a blessing to have joined—and it helped me to engage more with the information I gathered at the symposium (owing to a basic familiarity). I found that even with my limited knowledge of sacred music, I was able to improve greatly. I hope to come back next year with more experience and friends from the university who are interested in sacred music and want to learn how to praise God more reverently and wholeheartedly.

My Personal Testimony • I had come to the symposium to learn more about sacred music, but came back with so much more: inspiration, a sense of community, fire for sharing this special kind of music, a deeper admiration for God and all His gifts, and an experience that I will never forget. The week of the Sacred Music Symposium was one of the most enjoyable, intense, and spiritually fulfilling experiences of my life.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Sacred Music Symposium 2022 Last Updated: July 28, 2022

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Quick Thoughts

    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“We being many are one bread and one body, All who share the one bread and one cup. Vs. Thou hast prepared of thy sweetness for the poor, O God, who makest us to dwell in one mind in thy house. All who share the one bread and one cup.”

— Responsory (Matins for Corpus Christi) transl. by Fortescue

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