Seminarians flocking to the Winter Intensive
An unprecedented number of diocesan seminarians from around the country have applied for assistance to participate in the Winter Chant Intensive in Charleston, South Carolina. These are our future pastors – those who will be making decisions about liturgy in our local churches over the next ten, twenty, or forty years. There couldn’t be a more encouraging sign of the times. Donations from you are necessary to make it possible for the majority of the applicants to attend. We’d like to get as many seminarians there as we can – with eithe

New Norms for Choirs Singing at St. Peter’s
New norms that reflect a deeply informed perspective on the musical structure of the Roman Rite have been issued by the Vatican. Here they are. Among them: The guest choir may sing: at the Entrance procession until the moment when the celebrant reaches the altar (the Gregorian Introit is sung by the Musical Chapel of the Basilica), at the preparation of the gifts and relative offertory, at Communion, after the Gregorian antiphon has been sung, and at the end of Mass, after the Blessing. The program of music must follow the Liturgy of the day and will be agreed upon with and approved by the Choirmaster.

Two Videos from the Chant Pilgrimage

Chant goes south for the winter
In the best possible way. This year’s Winter Chant Intensive will be held in beautiful and historic Charleston, SC. The dates are January 4-8, 2010. The host venue for the classes and the closing Mass is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. As always, the course is limited to fifty participants and it sure to fill up quickly.

Plan to post images and recordings of the Fall Pilgrimage
All participants can help us in preserving and propagating the events that take place at the Fall Pilgrimage. We need lots of audio/video/images. Unlike the usual events that are encumbered by restrictions and proprietary claims, this entire conference is completely open source, so that no one should fear recording or taking pictures and uploading everything as soon as possible for general sharing. This is the way we get the word out. If you can help in this area, please take the initiative and share the results as widely as possible, particularly on the Musica Sacra forum.