The following was sent by someone taking
part in Sacred Music Symposium 2023; but
the names are fake, to respect privacy.
N YOUR LETTER, Mrs. Jane Doe, you asked excellent questions. Let me now provide the answers. Professor Charles Weaver of Julliard will be conducting most of the Gregorian chant. The INTROIT ANTIPHON will be sung by men only, according to Dom Mocquereau, using the score printed on page 92 of the 330 page booklet. [Page 93 gives Mocquereau’s modern notation version.] Anyone who wants to order their booklet in advance, to help them rehearse, is free to do so using this link. The GRADUAL will be sung by women only, according to Dom Mocquereau, using the score on pages 120-121. The OFFERTORY ANTIPHON will be sung by men only, according to Dom Mocquereau, using the score on page 132. [Page 133 gives Mocquereau’s modern notation version.] The COMMUNION ANTIPHON will be sung by women only, according to Dom Mocquereau, using the score printed on page 171. Professor Weaver is in the process of creating rehearsal tracks to assist your preparation. Our celebrant this year is FATHER DAVID FRIEL, director of priestly vocations for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Friday Will Be Different • Friday’s recording session will be different. On Friday, both men and women will record the full GREGORIAN ALLELUIA. Friday’s men will be conducted by Professor Charles Weaver, according to Dom Mocquereau. The men, therefore, will use page 189 for the Alleluia Verse and page 216 for the Víctimae Pascháli. Friday’s women will be conducted by Dr. Calabrese, according to the “untouched” Editio Vaticana. The women, therefore, will use page 188 for the Alleluia Verse and page 226 for the Víctimae Pascháli. When participants go home, they can compare both recordings and see which they prefer. We will also record several simpler versions of the Víctimae Pascháli, to demonstrate the various options conscientious choirmasters have at their disposal, whether they work at the Extraordinary Form or the Ordinary Form.
Compline Scores • In your letter (below) you ask about the COMPLINE scores. As far as I know, there is only one version. Please ignore the organ accompaniment printed on each opposite page—those are only for the organist, or to give the starting pitches. The only exception is the solemn Sálve Regina, which will be sung in plainsong the first night, but polyphony the other nights. For the Sálve Regina, please use the score on page 54. When you arrive in Orange County, we will explain why all those other versions were included.
Letter sent by Jane Doe:
Dear Mr. Ostrowski,
The practice recordings have been a great help. I have already printed out most of the music. The exceptions are the Introit, Gradual, Offertory Antiphon and Communion Antiphon. As you know, the book contains several versions of each one. Which ones are correct? Do you have any advice on whether particular versions have already been selected to be used for the Compline? That is, should we give attention to any particular version above others? Will recordings of these be made available prior to the conference?
Regarding my preparations, I devoted a significant amount of time to the Sálve Regina back in February, when my application was being reviewed, and I continue to refresh and review it. Since the last week of April, I have been getting together weekly with MRS. SINE NOMINE to practice the symposium repertoire. We have at least sung through all of the repertoire except the Confiteor, Introit, Gradual, Offertory Antiphon, and Communion Antiphon. Starting this week, we are increasing our practice sessions to twice a week, and I’ll be ramping up my individual practice time as well. Yesterday prior to receiving your email, I had devoted some time to getting familiar with Vimeo and creating a playlist of the practice tracks. This “channel” includes all of the available practice videos for “equal voice” and “alto” with the exception of the Agnus Dei because that one was posted on You-tube vs. Vimeo. It is my first time working with Vimeo, and it took a few hours to figure out the functionality and navigate to all of the practice tracks to compile the playlist, but I expect it is really going to help me get the most out of future practice time. Feel free to share it with others if it would be helpful. I shared the list with MRS. SINE NOMINE with the following instructions and she was able to access it:
[1] Install vimeo app
[2] Create a vimeo account / login to the account on the device
[3] Open the “channel” link from email on the device.
[4] Start at the bottom of the list (to retain the channel video order).
[5] Click on each video and select “add to offline playlist”.
Typically, I start to learn a particular piece by listening to the “alto” track recording and following along with the sheet music to gain familiarity and take note on particular pronunciations. Then I practice singing along with the alto track, at reduced speed if necessary and working to full tempo. I mark timestamps on the printed music for convenience to focus time and repetition on the more difficult passages or phrases. Once I am comfortable with singing along with the alto track, I switch to singing along with the “equal voices” track. I may also play and sing along with my part on the piano, particularly if no practice recording is available. I have used this approach for several choral events I participated in this spring (TENEBRAE, Victoria Civic Chorus, two ordination Masses), and it has worked well for me, so I feel confident I will be prepared for the conference after a few more weeks of practice, especially now that my calendar has opened up with the completion of these other events. Ashley has been giving me tips on pronunciation, phrasing and technique. I greatly look forward to the conference.
Conclusion • Letters like Jane Doe’s (above) prove there are still really awesome people in this world! With all the difficulties in our society, this person still makes time to go rehearse with other Catholics authentic sacred music, in preparation for Sacred Music Symposium 2023.
I think that’s inspiring!
