7 Keys to Success with Graduale Renovatum
Here’s how to get the most out of this fantastic new resource for interpreting chant rhythm.
“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)
Keven Smith is the music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr Catholic Church, an apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) in Sacramento, California. He trains and directs a mixed choir that sings full Gregorian propers, ordinaries, and sacred polyphony at more than 100 traditional Latin Masses per year. Keven lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—Read full biography (with photographs).
Here’s how to get the most out of this fantastic new resource for interpreting chant rhythm.
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If you missed it, you can hear my iPhone recording on YouTube. But will it be quite the same?
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If you enjoy juicy dissonances and hearing the sun dart in and out of the clouds, you’ll love this modern setting of an ancient text.
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Tournemire’s L’Orgue Mystique is an indispensable resource—especially for organists who are feeling “stuck” in their improvisation.
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Teaching sight-singing is important, but let’s not forget that it’s a means to an end.
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How a small child’s innocent question underscored the significance of what we do as church musicians.
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This simple canon makes a great “anytime” Offertory motet for developing choirs and experienced ensembles alike.
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Consider using this time of disruption as an opportunity to make long-overdue changes in the way your choir operates.
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May these thoughts on selfless love encourage you to persevere through Holy Week.
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I don’t know who really wrote this motet, but I do know it’s a soothing and highly accessible selection for Holy Week.
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Here are some audio samples from recent Masses, along with explanations of what I was thinking for each improvisation.
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If an ex-clarinetist can do it, you can do it—and the benefits far outweigh the effort involved.
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Some guidance on how to stay recollected at a low Mass while you’re also playing organ.
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Learn about the amazing promises attached to this venerable devotion.
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