PDF • Draft Booklet “Couture Chant” (255 Pages)
This is very much a “work in progress”…
“If we do not love those whom we see, how can we love God, Whom we do not see?” Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
My thesis on how Dom Mocquereau relates to other theories of musical rhythm is now available for download.
“Gentlemen: Nobody is going to follow the archaic and quack ideas on Chant you are trying to propagate.” Mr. John Sandar
My choir will definitely be using these settings. They’re something many have begged for!
“If you begin by telling a man that in a word like 𝐷𝑒𝑢𝑠 the first syllable corresponds to the weak beat, the second to the strong beat of a modern bar, the only thing accomplished will be to bewilder him thoroughly.” —Father Bewerunge
We should define our terms. What makes a syllable accented, and what makes an accent a tonic accent?
The truth is stranger than fiction.
The example chosen is the strenuous offertory (“Jubiláte Déo”) for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany.
Father Ralph March wrote: “If any single man could deserve the title father of the renewed chant it would be Dom Joseph Pothier.”
Fascinating details from never-before-seen letters recently discovered in southern France!
My humble attempt at singing the Introit for the 3rd Sunday of Advent in accordance with the official rhythm.
You look upon these thousands of manuscripts in much the same way that I view the plainsong editions of Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers.
Why declare that rhythmic signs are permitted if alteration of any kind is unacceptable? It doesn’t make any sense…
My response to the recent article by Professor Charles Weaver.
This can seem like a dry topic, but it actually often deals with practical issues faced by every choirmaster who wants to promote plainchant.
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We’re under tremendous pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”
We don’t want to do this. We believe our website should remain free to all. It’s annoying to have to search for login credentials (e.g. if you’re away from your desk).
Our president has written the following letter:
* Thirteen Men & Coins (Holy Thursday Appeal)
Traditionally on Holy Thursday, the priest washed the feet of thirteen men. Theologians held various opinions regarding whom the “13th man” represented. Before the liturgical changes of Pope Pius XII (which changed the number from thirteen to twelve), the priest washed each man’s feet, kissed his foot, and gave him a coin.
This “coin” business seems providential—inasmuch as our appeal begins on Holy Thursday this year.
Time's up