A Talk on the Importance of Chant

Dr. Charles Weaver · September 25, 2024

Back in January I gave a talk at Sacred Heart Parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have a fantastic lecture series, and this was also in connection with their admirable project on the fifth centennial of Palestrina’s birth. The talk is now available on Spotify, and I hope it will be of some interest to our readers. You can find the talk by clicking here.

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

About Dr. Charles Weaver

Dr. Charles Weaver is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and serves as director of music for St. Mary’s Church. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).

Music List • (28th Sund. Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday—13 October 2024—is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Some have expressed interest in perusing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. The Communion hymn we’re singing—set to the tune of FREUEN WIR UNS ALL IN EIN—is particularly beautiful.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Entrance Chant” • For Sunday (13-Oct-2024)

Here’s the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON (PDF)—Gregorian Chant in English—for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 October 2024). The Mode 3 version which served as its inspiration will be familiar to plainchant scholars. You can also download this organ accompaniment which corresponds to the vocalist score. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, you can listen to my attempt at singing it while simultaneously playing the organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

The End Is Coming!

As we approach the end of each liturgical year, something remarkable happens. A preponderance of the INTROITS—a.k.a. Entrance Chants—are set in the rather “spooky” or “haunting” Mode iii or Mode iv. I can’t help but wonder if this is Holy Mother Church reminding us of our own end.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Finding New Motets

It strikes me that many of the best motets my choir sings are ones I found by accident. These are motets that popped up as YouTube suggestions, or that someone mentioned in a Facebook thread and I casually gave them a listen. The lesson? Be open to finding good sacred music even when you’re not desperately searching for something to sing at Christmas.

—Keven Smith

Mass • “Singing” Vs. “Reciting”

This past week, as I was cantoring one morning, I forgot to turn on the microphone which delayed the “Holy, Holy” about 2-3 seconds. The congregation started to recite the text and made it about halfway through while I was still singing the third Holy. Once everyone realized I was chanting, they joined in, but one thing stuck out very profoundly: singing the Mass slows us down and lets us savor the words of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We went from routine & rote to reverent & rapt instantly. That single change made clear that those present were able to enter more deeply into the reality of the Mass itself—and isn’t that one of our highest callings as musicians?

—William J. Fritz

This Coming Sunday’s Resp. Psalm

Visit the feasts website and examine the Responsorial Psalm REFRAIN for this coming Sunday [6-OCT-2024] which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Compare the official text (in Latin) to the “translation” given in the Spanish Lectionary. You’ll see the translators got it completely wrong. The 1970s “translations” by ICEL were notoriously heinous. Are those responsible for translating the Lectionary into Spanish striving to outdo them? Almost every psalm I’ve examined contains at least one major error.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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About Dr. Charles Weaver