The Recovering Choir Director

On chanting by heart, from the heart

October 6, 2008 by Aristotle A. Esguerra — 0 comments.

Starting last week, I started to memorize two of the simpler Gregorian Chant propers for the upcoming Sundays; namely the Introit and Communion antiphons. The motive was to so as to better internalize the melody, text and meaning of each.
It makes a huge difference.
From my brief experience, it liberates the chant from the printed page [...]

Filed under: Uncategorized.
Tags: CMAA Colloquium XVIII (2008); Gregorian Chant; Gregorian Missal; Music Education; William Mahrt.

“A Week of Musical Heaven in Chicago”

July 2, 2008 by Aristotle A. Esguerra — 0 comments.

(This entry is part 6 in the series “CMAA Colloquium XVIII (2008).”)

Catholic blogging pioneer Fr. Rob Johansen (Thrown Back), with whom I had the pleasure of dining and conversing at Colloquium XVIII, has posted a multimedia presentation (pictures, audio and his own commentary) of the Requiem Mass that he celebrated in Loyola University’s Madonna della [...]

Filed under: Recordings.
Tags: Church Music Association of America; CMAA Colloquium XVIII (2008); Fr. Rob Johansen; Funerals; Gregorian Chant; Loyola University; Roman Rite (Ordinary Form); Sacred polyphony.

Palestrina – Tu Es Petrus a 6

June 23, 2008 by Aristotle A. Esguerra — 1 comment.

(This entry is part 1 in the series “CMAA Colloquium XVIII (2008).”)

Here is an mp3 recording of a choir, composed of a subset of Colloquium 2008 participants, singing the Palestrina setting of Tu Es Petrus a 6. This motet was sung within the context of a Mass offered for the intentions of Benedict XVI, after [...]

Filed under: Recordings.
Tags: Church Music Association of America; CMAA Colloquium XVIII (2008); Horst Buchholz; Palestrina; Sacred polyphony.