The rest of the week - Epiphany and fleeing Snowmageddon

Thursday was another day full of music.  We had 4 1/2 hours of chant and polyphony rehearsal, plus chanting of Morning and Night Prayer, plus Mass - probably about 7 hours of singing, total.

The day's Mass was for St. John Neumann, OF ad orientem, completely sung, not only the ordinary (Mass IV) and the chanted propers of the day, but also the readings.

In the Traditional Latin Mass, Epiphany is celebrated on the appointed day, not transferred, so we actually got to have Epiphany on Jan. 6th. :) 
Due to the impending Winter Storm Helene, the  High Mass was moved up by three hours.  This meant we had to skip our last rehearsal, and the earlier one was shortened.  The rector of the cathedral surprised us by sending over two King cakes for the coffee hour after Morning Prayer! 

The Mass setting for the day was the Missa O Quam Gloriosum Est Regnum by Vittoria, which uses the same motifs from the motet after which this blog is named.  Hopefully, we will learn this setting in our parish schola at home later on.

Music files!   (It's a wonder I figured out how to do this)

 St. Paul Cathedral

Men's schola

Women's schola

Our fearless conductors!

Morning sky from hotel window
prior to Snowmageddon

So, I've been collecting pics of the 'angels in the architecture' in the various churches .  There weren't any in this cathedral, but they do have these adoring angels before the tabernacle!

Birmingham was getting ready for an afternoon of heavy sleet, so it was a blessing to be able to finish early, but it's always hard to leave.  We made it home safely, although it rained most of the way.  My schola and traveling buddy Jean is a great driver, even if I was white-knuckling it for a good part of the time! :-)

The annual summer Colloquium will take place in Minnesota this June.  Hope to see y'all there!

Colloquium Day Four - Requiem

Today we had the annual  Solemn Requiem Mass for the deceased members of CMAA.  We were back at the Shrine for the Mass, followed by Solemn Vespers and sung Compline.

Earlier in the day,  the Palestrina choir (the one I'm in) rehearsed the Missa Papae Marcelli, which we will sing at the Cathedral Basilica tomorrow.  If you have never been in the midst of 60 voices singing this Mass, I highly recommend that you do so.  It is breathtakingly beautiful.  

After all the liturgical events at the Shrine, I got to meet my Plurk friend Tina and her puppy pal Dug in person!  Dug showed off his cat-stalking and treat-eating skills, and Tina graciously played tour guide and gave me a driving tour of the city before dropping me back at the hotel.  Tomorrow, I get to meet another Plurk buddy, Mark from Rome of the West blog fame, in real life.  :-)

The Mass will be live-streamed on Friday at 5:30 Central, 6:30 Eastern here:  http://archstl.org/CMAA

Catafalque

Solemn Requiem Mass

Fr. Pasley

Vespers

Compline

Dug

Colloquium Day Three

Today we visited the Shrine of St. Joseph and had our first of three Masses there.  This historic shrine has a miraculous history, and the altar was donated by those who had prayed to St. Joseph and were preserved from the cholera epidemic of 1849.  The shrine is also the site of a miraculous healing of a man who asked the intercession of then Blessed Peter Claver, which miracle was ine of the two miracles approved by Rome, leading to his canonization.  We were able to stand in the same spot and venerate the very same relic!

Original baptismal font from  the mid 1800s

Side altar

St. John Berchmanns, patron saint of altar boys

More angels in the architecture

St. Joseph stands vigil by the rectory parking

Colloquium Day Two

After morning prayer and breakfast, all 240 colloquium attendees split off into their various chant groups.  There are seven, yes SEVEN, different chant groups this year.  Walking down the hallway past the rehearsal rooms was like passing by the rooms in the mansions of heaven;  each room producing one glorious sound after another!

Today's plenary talk was given by Dr. Mahrt, on the aesthetics of psalmody as a foundation for liturgy.

After lunch, it was time for a demo by a children's schola from Virginia, who were taught using the Ward Method, followed by our various polyphony choir practice.  There are four polyphonic choirs.  Each prepares selections for the daily sung Masses, whether ordinary or extraordinary form, in English or Latin, including the Ordinary, the Propers, and motets.

This afternoon's Mass was at the Pro-Cathedral of St. John, built in the mid-nineteenth century.  I love the acoustics in the old churches;  time to return to that architectural aesthetic!
After supper, we returned to the main ballroom on the 13th floor of our hotel for chanted Compline.

We shall do it all again tomorrow! :-)

David Cole conducts the advanced women's schola.

Dr. Mahrt

The Arch

Ward Method children's schola

Main altar and sanctuary,
ProCathedral of St. John

Angels in the architecture

Pipe organ in the loft

Prayer after Communion

Celtic cross outside the main entrance

Lots of cassocks to bee seen this week! :-)

Colloquium time again! St. Louis edition

Yes, we are in the Rome of the West this week for the 26th annual Musica Sacra Colloquium.  This year's event kicked off last evening with a concert given by Pro-Arte St. Louis, under the expert direction of cathedral conductor Horst Buckholst.  We will begin the full schedule of schola and polyphonic choir rehearsals this morning.

The great hall at St. Louis city center library

Owls around the ceiling

Colloquium - The Last Day

Colloquium group pic

All too soon, our heavenly week was ended.  Our final Mass was back in the university chapel.  With the eight scheduled choirs, plus the members of the Faure choir adding their voices to the beginning polyphony choir, our nine choirs evoked the nine Angelic Choirs of Heaven. The Mass concluded with all 210 attendees chanting the Te Deum in alternatum.

Please plan to join us next year in St. Louis!

Pope Leo XIII in stained glass

Entrance procession, OF Mass

Dcn. Ed Shaeffer chants the holy Gospel

Homily, Fr. Pasley

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When the Colloquium ended, we decided to go and visit St. Anthony chapel, which contains the largest collection of relics outside the Vatican.  However, even though the website said it would be open today, it was closed.

Instead, we visited Epiphany Church, which was having a 4th of July food festival.  This is another of many beautiful old churches in the Pittsburgh area,

Old Testament prophets in stained glass all along the wall on the epistle side.

Life size St. Vincent de Paul keeps vigil in the back of the church.

Rose window above the organ and choir loft.

Moses in the Holy of Holies

Angels in the vestibule - Puritas

and Temperantia

Pope Leo XIII was gloriously reigning when construction began on Epiphany Church

and Pope St. Pius X was gloriously reigning when it was completed.