The Recovering Choir Director

Exaltation of the Holy Cross was a busy day around here.

Fr. John J. McCartney, pastor of St. Matthew's in Dix Hills, blessing the new chapel altar rails, Sept. 14, 2008.

The day started with rehearsal at St. Matthew’s in Dix Hills at around 8:30AM for the EF Latin Mass in the parish chapel. One year ago on the 16th, the first regularly scheduled EF Mass in this parish in probably a generation. It is truly inspiring to see how far this Mass has developed - of course keeping in mind that there is still much work to be done.

Last year, this Mass was a Low Mass. This year, the Mass was celebrated in the form of a Missa Cantata. While much work still needs to be done in terms of liturgical catechesis and music education (including my own), the Mass did feature the full complement of Gregorian chant antiphons, as well as selections from Mass XI, Mass VIII and Credo III.

Notable was the blessing of two movable altar rails, a donation of time and talent by a retired furniture maker.

After a brief reception in the parish gymnasium, I drove out to New Jersey to provide direction for members of the schola cantorum of Holy Rosary Church of Jersey City, as we sang the propers for the first EF Mass celebrated at the beautiful Romanesque church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Bayonne. One member of that schola, Art Bryan Manabat, has progressed really rapidly in the chant to the point he is a fluent sight-reader of square notation.

Elevation of the Precious Blood, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Bayonne, NJ, Sept. 14, 2008.

(Warning: The following should not be tried at home.)

I had contacted Art earlier in the week about the possibility of singing the Offertory verses as found in the Offertoriale Triplex, and he agreed to the task, sight unseen. Now, most people would not be able to execute the verses in the Offertoriale Triplex for many reasons; the melodies are unfamiliar, the square notation and the more ancient neumes don’t always agree, etc. But having sung with him many times in the past, I know that Art is not most people. He has a command of his talent, and a relaxed demeanor which instills further confidence.

Oh, and he’s in his early 20s. A great sign of things to come.

Given that this was a Solemn High Mass, and that I timed the chant plus verses at around seven minutes, I thought that it could be executed without undue delay at the altar. Thankfully, this proved to be correct, as the celebrant, Fr. Michael C. Barone, assisted by Fr. Andreas Hellmann ICRSS and Fr. Ernest Rush, only had to wait about 15 seconds for the schola to finish. I had asked them to be a bit more deliberate with their actions at this point, and everything seemed to integrate nicely.

Members of the Mount Carmel choir, assisted by Dayle Vander Sande, the organist there, musically contributed to the liturgy in the singing of the Lambillotte Panis Angelicus as a prelude, the Palestrina O Bone Iesu at Communion, and Polish and English verses of “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” after the singing of the solemn-tone Te Deum.

It’s good that the demand to experience the music of the Roman Rite in its proper context is growing once again. May such demand go vertical.

Additional photos are available on my Facebook album.