An Important Anniversary
Dom Pothier died 100 years ago today.
“If we do not love those whom we see, how can we love God, Whom we do not see?” Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
Dr. Charles Weaver is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, and serves as organist and director of music at St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, Connecticut. His research interests include the history of music theory and the theory of plainchant rhythm. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and four children.—Read full biography (with photographs).
The idea of the tonic accent in Gregorian melody runs through the entire Solesmes tradition from Gontier to Pothier to Mocquereau to the present.
We Church musicians have a high calling to bear witness to the truth with our music and our lives.
We can think of the modes and their traditional characters in a dynamic way, and it can help us to have a little more shape and direction in our singing.
This week I attended part of an excellent academic conference in honor of William Mahrt.
Two recordings of the same chant from the Sacred Music Symposium 2023.
My thesis on how Dom Mocquereau relates to other theories of musical rhythm is now available for download.
In praise of the Cardine approach to chanting, with some further thoughts on pluralism and correctness in performance practice.
The better the voice is, the meeter it is to honour and serve God therewith: and the voice of man is chiefly to be employed to that end.
“I find Anerio’s work here to be excellent, and I hope you do as well.” —Dr. Charles Weaver
Readers interested in different stylistic approaches to Gregorian chant may enjoy this interview with the singer Bruno de Labriolle, who directs the schola of Saint-Bruno-des-Chartreux in Lyon. The views on chant and liturgy aired in the interview aren’t exactly the same as those of any of our contributors, but I personally find this group’s performances, in […]
Did you know that St. Augustine described the sound of one hand clapping?
“Nothing so arouses the soul, gives it wing, sets it free from the earth, releases it from the prison of the body, teaches it to love wisdom, and to condemn all the things of this life, as concordant melody and sacred song composed in rhythm.” —St. John Chrysostom
A proposal: if we are going to study something as important and mysterious as Gregorian chant, we ought to be able to perform it convincingly in several different ways.
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