A monthly subscription fee of $4.95 gives access to the entire website (beginning on 8 May 2026). Thank you for supporting our efforts!
Our Schola Cantorum members prefer to hear recordings of chants we’re learning. This morning I attempted this recording of the INTROIT for this coming Sunday, which is the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. My voice was groggy, but I suppose we singers can’t expect to have a recording studio follow us around all day waiting for […]
On 22 November 1963, Pope Paul VI established the “Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae.” On 16 July 1966, the Vatican reiterated that the Consociatio was “the only international association of sacred music approved by the Holy See.” It’s very difficult—at least for me—to figure out what happened to that organization, and whether it still exists. One […]
I never knew these existed until earlier today!
Father Weinmann placed plainsong on five (5) lines, yet still used Gregorian notation—including chord symbols!
“My name is *******. I wanted to share with you my thoughts on your recent blog post. I was very displeased with this article. […] I’ve have been a supporter of the Latin Mass since I was 14 years old. I’m now 26 and a seminarian; and I very much hope (in the near future) […]
Bishop Burbidge has forbidden eight parishes from publishing Mass times in their bulletins, parish websites, or social media channels!
Download my “choir warm-up” at this link. Have your singers pause on different chords. As choirmaster, see if you can identify each seventh chord in real time (and which position it’s in). You can hear my volunteer choir attempting this. You will notice that we still have work to do, because the singers must be […]
“The portable organ shall be lowered into the quire to accompany the singers, who shall sing solos in their order of seniority…” —1604 document
Alonso Lobo (1555-1617) started out as an assistant to Father Guerrero (d. 1599). In the book by Stevenson—which I never grow tired of praising—we find this wonderful excerpt which provides fascinating details vis-à-vis musical performance circa 1600AD. I like how it says that on Easter the prosa “must be the one composed by Morales.”
Installment 4 • “How Has Nobody Done This Before?” (series)
This short piece shimmers with beauty. The arrangement is by Monsignor René Moissenet.
A professor at our conservatory always told us: “An example is worth 1,000 words.”
Fulton J. Sheen told a story about a man who bumped into Abraham Lincoln yelling: “Get out of my way, you big ugly lummox!”
I’ve attempted to create a recording for this coming Sunday according to the official rhythm…
Why do hymns in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal give so many optional “text only” versions of the hymns? It’s easier to demonstrate than explain. Consider Hymn #24, which allows the director to choose a wonderful melody and easily apply it to the text. Hymnal editors knew about the value of “text only” versions […]
