A successful Hillary Term

For the first time, we sang for the feast day of St Hillary, the saint after whom Hillary Term is named: the 'Athanasius of the West'. We accompanied a beautiful and well-attended Dominican High Mass in Blackfriars.

Term Card for Hilary Term 2017

Term Card for Hilary Term 2017

0th Week

Sat 14th January 11am

St Hilary of Poitiers

Blackfriars, Oxford

3rd Week

Thursday 2nd February 6pm

Purification of Our Lady (Candlemas)

SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford

4th Week

Saturday 11th February 11:30am

Apparition of Our Lady (Our Lady of Lourdes)

Chapel of Milton Manor House, near Abingdon

5th Week

Friday 17th February, 6pm

Requiem Mass

SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford

7th Week

Wednesday 1st March, 6pm

Ash Wednesday

SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford

8th Week

Saturday 11th March, 11:30am

Ember Saturday of Lent

Our Lady and St Anne, Caversham

Easter Vacation

Saturday 25th March, 10:30am

Annunciation of Our Lady

SS Gregory & Augstine's

President: Ben Koons, Oriel

Secretary: Jēkabs Jurdžs

Treasurer: Andrew Auty

A successful Michaelmas Term

Michaelmas Term was a busy one for the Schola Abelis, with a new intake of student singers. As has become usual, they tend to be graduate students. Our numbers at events have been up to ten, which is a lot for a chant schola.

We have this term focused on Oxford venues: the Mass we accompanied in Blackfriars is captured above; the one in St Benet's Hall, below.

Term Card for Michaelmas 2016

Michaelmas Term

2016

2nd Week

St Frideswide

Wednesday 19th Nov, 6pm

SS Gregory & Augustine’s

3rd Week

Dominican Chant

Saturday 29th Oct Oxford Pilgrimage 11am Blackfriars

6th Week

Requiem

Saturday 19th Nov 11:30am

St Benet's Hall

7th Week

St Sylvester, Abbot

Sat 26th November

11:30am Holy Rood, Abingdon Road

President: Ben Koons, Oriel

Secretary: Jēkabs Jurdžs
Treasurer: Andrew Auty

Schola Abelis in Merton

Last Saturday evening the Schola Abelis, sang Vespers in Merton College Chapel in Oxford.

Fr Richard Biggerstaff, the Director of the St Barnabas Society, officiated.

We don't often do services in Anglican chapels, but Vespers is a rather different proposition from Mass. It was an opportunity for the Schola to tackle the somewhat different challenges of the Divine Office, compared to Mass, and to sing in the wonderful acoustic of Merton's historic chapel, as well as to honour St Barnabas and beg his interecession for the important work of the St Barnabas Society.

This supports Anglican and other ordained ministers who become Catholic, frequently losing their livlihoods in doing so. Go and support them through their website here.

The Schola Abelis is the only choir in Oxford focusing on Gregorian Chant. And though I say it myself, we sounded very good at Vespers. Anyone, from Town or University, who is interested in singing with us should contact us (). We don't expect previous experience singing chant - or anything else. I should mention that it is an all-male schola.

These days we are being looked after, in the capacity of cantor and trainer, by Will Dawes, a professional singer based in Oxford with an excellent knowledge of chant. Amusingly enough, he also directs an all-female liturgical choir. There is something for everyone in Oxford!

Support the work of the LMS by becoming an 'Anniversary Supporter'.

Trinity Term 2016 Term Card

Events in Trinity Term 2016

Saturday 28th May (5th Week)

Feast of Blessed Margaret Pole in the Archdiocese of Birmingham

Sung Mass in the Dominican Rite, Blackfriars 11am

Friday 3rd June (6th Week)

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

SS Gregory & Augustine's, Woodstock Road, Oxford, 6pm

Saturday 11th June (7th Week)

Feast of St Barnabas

Vespers according to the 1960 Divine Office

Merton College Chapel, 8:30pm


Sunday 19th June (9th Week)
Fifth after Pentecost
Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

SS Gregory & Augustine's, Woodstock Road, Oxford, 12noon

The Schola Abelis accompanies Candlemas

The Schola Abelis accompanied Candlemas - the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary - in SS Gregory & Augustine's, Oxford, on Feb 2nd.