Chant

2/10/2021

Prospects for developing the Chant

A lovely family has shown interest in singing at Church. I want to run with this. I’ll need first to meet with them to assess their skill level. They have indicated a weekday availability, following the morning Mass at 8:00 AM. An early thought was to look at Terce.

Terce

It’s a simple hour. The ordinary chant is the most basic there is. It includes the same, one hymn “Nunc Sancte Nobis.” There is one antiphon and three psalms. The brief chapter, verse, response & oration wrap it up and we’re done. The little hours have to be the easiest place to start. It’s a great place to start. I can find out where their abilities are at the outset and see what Herculean effort it’ll take to get this into a regular repertoire. Oh, and it’s all done in less than twenty minutes.  Really, less than fifteen.

Beyond Terce

Baby steps. Work the Marian antiphons. Comprehension of the text of what is being chanted. Psalm tones. Ordinary of the Mass. Latin language. English propers of the Mass. The sunny uplands are the Gregorian propers of the Mass and some sweet polyphony.

Regular Rehearsal

After 8:00 AM Mass once a week. Briefer, so as not to discourage or overburden them. They’ll then want to take it home, hopefully, and practice there. Eventually, we won’t be rehearsing Terce, we’ll be praying it as, let’s say, our “opening prayer” at rehearsal before moving on to whatever else we’re working on that morning. Cool thing about working the little hours is that if we have to change the rehearsal day or time, we can switch out the hour as well.

[image: File:Magdalena ante el sepulcro de Cristo (Museo del Prado).jpg ]