“Offertory Verses and Why You Should Sing Them” (Includes PDF Download)
“This has nothing to do with tradition; it is shallow anti-intellectualism, lack of critical thinking, and aesthetic preference masquerading as obedience.” —Patrick Williams
Sacred Music Institute at Mount St. Mary’s, Cincinnati
July 19–21 Sacred Music Institute “Inheritors of Heaven: The Call to Eucharistic Worship”
The Illumination of the Church at the Easter Vigil
“Is the symbolism of the Easter Vigil better served by brilliant light or the faint glow of candles in the darkness?” —Patrick Williams
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Non Praevaleat”
“We got to this point because we questioned unfounded claims.” —Patrick Williams
Who Should Sing the Passion? What about Tracts?
“I am of the opinion that women are not to participate in the singing of the crowd parts and that the manner of alternation in the tract is merely a matter of custom, preference, or practicality.” —Patrick Williams
At the Cross • Stabat Mater
“The devotional version of this hymn employs a later tune erroneously called ‘plainsong’ in various sources.” —Patrick Williams
Ictus Fictus!
“Hardly any of this made-up system has its basis in medieval music theory or in the manuscripts themselves.”—Patrick Williams
Chant Glossary
Glossary of Chant Terms
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Clap Your Hands!” (10 Mar 2023)
“With my questions unanswered by those objecting to rhythmic markings based on the oldest sources, it is difficult to take their arguments seriously.” —Patrick Williams
Patrick’s Second Response to Matthew
“Matthew Frederes is encouraging resistance and asserting that ‘progress trumps antiquity,’ without recognizing that he is resisting both!” —Patrick Williams
Patrick Williams Responds to Matthew Frederes
“. . . zealous to keep the traditions of our forefathers, ever trying . . . boldly to restore any which might have been forgotten in the course of the ages.” —Preface to the Vatican Edition
Blackley’s Sunday Mass Propers Now Available as Free PDF
“Transcriptions are best done by those who both sing & conduct and enjoy studying minute neumatic details & problems—all this while making sure that the horizontal musical line of each song is their main musical concern.” —R. John Blackley
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Liturgical Recitative” (15 Feb 2023)
“May our voices be the instruments through which God breathes new life into the ancient chants of the Catholic Church, decrepit through centuries of neglect and misinterpretation!” —Patrick Williams
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Normal Syllabic Value” (6 Feb 2023)
“The problem with semiology is not that it neglects the rhythmic indications of the oldest sources, but rather that it overinterprets them, like the nuance theory on steroids.” —Patrick Williams
Getting More Mileage out of a Polyphonic Requiem
“Many choirs only have the opportunity to sing a choral Requiem Mass once a year, if that.” —Patrick Williams