Winter Sacred Music - Birmingham!

No, it isn't yet Colloquium time!  This is a special edition - the Winter Sacred Music workshop, this year held in chilly Birmingham, AL.  There is even a chance of snow before we finish on Friday.  Woot!

45 attendees have braved various weather events traveling.   It's great so see old friends again and to meet new ones.

 We just had a very long drive with rain and fog thrown in for good measure.

The Mass on Wednesday will be with Bishop Baker in his cathedral.  As our schola director at home  would say, we will be 'massed at' by the cathedral choir.  In the meantime, we are practicing for the Thursday and Friday Masses, in the OF and EF forms respectively.  We are still in the Christmas season liturgically , so the Friday EF Mass will be Epiphany proper.  The setting of the Ordinary that we are learning is the Missa O Quam Gloriosum et Regnum by Victoria, which features the same motives as the motet of the same name.  We are also learning his motet Magi Viderunt Stellam.  Our advanced chant group is also responsible for the OF Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, and Offertory Propers on Thursday, as well as the Alma Redemptoris Mater by Palestrina.  The entire ensemble is learning Mass IV, Cunctipotens Genitor Deus, for that Mass, too.  There might be a few others, but we haven't learned them yet.  That's a whole lot of music we have, and have learned most of it in under two days so far.  (Well, two of the motets aren't new, so that helps.)

Looking forward to more rehearsals and chanted morning and night prayer each day!  This is the Best kind of vacation!  :-)  I highly recommend it.