I've been having a lot of trouble with camcorders and software, and now have a backlog of videos. Here are three of the Newman Society Termly Mass back in March 2010. This was a pontifical Mass celebrated by Abbot Brogan of Farnbrough. It was the Monday after the 3rd Sunday of Lent, a feria.
We sang from the front of the nave, vested, the first time we have done this. There would not be room in the sanctuary for a liturgical schola - certainly not for a schola of our size, there were eight of us.
Introit, In Deo laudabo
Gradual Deus vitam meam, and the Tract Domine non secundum, the latter of which is sung every Monday, Wednesday and Friday Feria Mass of Lent.
Offertory Exaudi Deus
A report on the Mass and the dinner which followed can be seen here.
We have sung two Masses so far: for St Joseph the Workman in St Anthony of Padua -
and for the Ascension (on the Thursday!) at the Oxford Oratory.
Both went extremely well; we had polyphony for the first, Byrd's three-part Mass, and in the second we used for the first time the Medieval offertory verses which were reintroduced to the modern repertoir by the Solesmes research in the early 20th Century.
Technological problems and time constraints have prevented my from recording videos at these Masses but I hope to remedy this for future Masses.
Last Saturday we sang at the LMS Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Caversham, an extremely interesting church where the medieval shrine, which had been visited and endowed from at least the Norman Conquest and destroyed by Henry VIII, was re-established in 1959.
Introit Intret oratio mea, and Kyrie
It was the Ember Saturday in Lent, so we sang the Mass Intret oratio mea. We used the forma brevior, which has a prophecy, an epistle and a gospel, and not the long form with a total of seven readings with Graduals in between them.
We had an unusal polyphonic ordinary: La Messe de Nostre Dame by Guillaume de Machaunt, the earliest complete Mass setting by a single composer. In the Kyrie was alternated Machaunt's melody with the Mass IV Kyrie, on which it is based, which is how it is usually performed.
Here is the Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei, just as a sound file.
The Gradual (Propitius esto Domine) and the Tract (Laudate Dominum) (they don't follow each other immediately in the liturgy of Ember Saturday, but I have cut out the part between them.)
Interestingly this Tract recurs in the Easter Vigil.
The Offertory and the Communion
There was no view of the Sanctuary from the choir loft to speak of, so I have experimented with still images, no images, and here just what the camera could see - the singers. I'm not sure what is the best way to present these recordings.
A new organisation has been launched to promote Gregorian Chant: the Gregorian Chant Network. It will link Chant Scholas together for mutual support and organise training events: the first of these will be a three-day course, April 9-11th, with Nick Gale.
It was launched with the involvement of more than 20 scholas around England, Wales, and Scotland, including the Schola Abelis, and is supported by the Latin Mass Society, Una Voce Scotland, the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, and the Association for Latin Liturgy. This is a major development in the world of Chant, in which many feel isolated in trying to promote the Chant and bereft of the necessary resources and training opportunities.
The GCN website already gathers together an impressive array of on-line materials, recommended books and useful links.
We had a splendid Mass with polyphony today in the church of Our Lady of Light, Long Crendon, in honour of Bl Thomas Belson and his companions. These men were executed for the Catholic faith in 1589 in Oxford; Thomas Belson was a resident of Brill, which is in the modern Catholic parish of Long Crendon.
The chants are of particular interest, if not merit, since they are unique to the Mass, and the Mass is unique to England and Wales. They were put together for the feast of SS Thomas More and John Fisher, and like most 'late' chant they use bits and pieces (texts and melodies) from elsewhere.
The Introit, Deus venerunt, followed by a polyphonic Kyrie: Cristobal de Morales, Missa Benedicta es caelorum
The Gradual, Effunderunt
Morales' Sanctus and Benedictus.
Offertory Noli meminisse
Communion, Sub altare Dei, followed by a polyphonic motet, the first part of Josquin's Tu solus qui facis mirabilia.
After Mass we had a very good meal at The Angel Restaurant, a gastro-pub down the road from the church.
Lent is now upon us, however. The Schola sang at the first Sung Ash Wednesday service for a number of years, in the Church of SS Gregory & Augustine, with the blessing and distribution of ashes.
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About us
Founded in 2006 as a student society of Oxford University, we are an all-male chant schola singing Gregorian Chant; we sometimes sing with a mixed polyphonic consort specialising in Renaissance Polyphony. We sing this music in its intended setting in the Traditional Liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, in association with the Latin Mass Society.
