The following was an announcement sent out early this month by Mary Ann Carr Wilson, director of music at St. Anne parish in San Diego. Wilson, who will teach the class, added some notes in a September 17 email (see below).
Who- the course is intended for choir directors, singers, and anyone wanting to gain basic familiarity with chant
When- every Wednesday evening from 7-9pm for eight weeks, starting this coming Wednesday Sept. 19 and running through Nov. 7
What- We’ll learn how to sing acapella, using chant notation
We’ll sing 1-2 Chant Ordinaries (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei), 4-5 Chant Hymns, 2 Marian antiphons
Where- St. Anne Church, Choir Room, 2337 Irving Avenue, San Diego 92113
How- to register, simply leave the name of anyone attending for Mary Ann at the parish office, 619-239-8253 ext.116. A binder with music and information covered in class will be made for all attendees
Why- lay faithful can benefit spiritually from learning the sung prayers of the Church, as well as better participate in their parts of the Mass
Notes:
This is the fourth year of the class. We’ve had total beginners, deacons, Eastern-rite Catholics, choir directors, cantors, and teens in the class. Lots of people who thought or were told they couldn’t sing leave being able to join in the singing with everyone else.
Several people have gone on to incorporate more Gregorian chant in their parishes, which is great.
The diocesan-wide class is intended to give people the tools they need to revitalize and upgrade music in the parishes, so we can move toward fulfilling the directive of the most recent council that Gregorian chant be restored and the faithful can sing their parts of the Mass.
Viva la fraternidad sacerdotal de San Pedro.
Thak you for the music and the joy.
I enrolled in this class several years ago and it inspired me to learn Latin. As a result, now I only speak Latin in my home. This is a bit un-nerving for my wife and four teenage children, but they are learning as well. Pax vobiscum!
Each of us should send a copy of this article to their own Diocese Bishop, and ask when this class will be available within his own Diocese.
MIKE, let’s not wait for the bishops. We laity have to find the chant experts, make a plan, get the word out, and put on the classes ourselves. Just takes a little hard work, but it’s worth it.
Please post it on Youtube.
I’ve mentioned this here before, but Mrs. Carr Wilson’s love for the Lord is made manifest by her love for the Faithful she serves at St. Anns and virtually all over the world (via YouTube, Vimeo), her devotion to her family, her love of the Church’s foremost musical and sacral language of chant, and a talent for singing and teaching singing second to none in this and likely many states and dioceses.
San Diegans, you have a world-class chant and polyphony expert who could have chosen a career path gracing world opera house stages, but chose to serve the Bride of Christ, the Church. She recently brought another California “hidden treasure,” Jeffrey Morse of St. Stephens, Sacramento, to her own schola and choirs for an intensive workshop. Mr. Morse is also a world renown chant scholar among whose mentors is the late, great Dr. Mary Berry. These two folks travel to conferences, to Solemnes, for tutelage under other mentors such as Wm Mahrt of Stanford largely by their own means and largely for no recompense.
Do not miss this opportunity if you live in SD/La Jolla area!
Chant is our future, it is not a confined to any moment in the past or in museums and concert stages. And it is not mere music, it is the worship language of the OHCA Church founded by Christ HImself that is meant to be taken up by the whole congregations that worship Him daily at Mass, and fully on each Lord’s and Holy Day.
Blessings to all.
Thank you for this eloquent and beautiful post, Charles! I was feeling very sad today…so much bad news everywhere and my dear 15 yr old corgi died yesterday. It was truly music to my ears to read such a testimony about Mrs. Wilson, and what a joy she must bring to music and especially in her service to the Lord. I,like Pilar, wish I could take these classes. It is something I’ve always wanted to do. May God richly bless these efforts and the work of all of those you mentioned!
Yes, I visited that St. Anne Church once I was in San Diego and its is true, That Mrs. Carr has a voice fit for an Angel of the Most high.
This is great news and I am so happy that this is being offered. I pray to God that all bishops in all Diocese in the United States. It is true that even those who think cannot sing finds out that they can sing. I am one of those who think that way. It is amazing when one begins to listen and then sing the Gregorian Chant, it gives me a feeling of being lifted up witht he angels to sing praises to God. I do not know what is in the Gregorian Chants that makes that feeling but it is truly uplifting. May the Lord bless you in having this in your Diocese. I wish I have that here and I would be the first one to register. It is sad that many Diocese do not realize what they are missing when they do not allow parishioners to have a latin Mass in their Diocese and not offer programs that will encourage greater participation in the Latin Mass. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit bring forth graces to the participants to these program and that those who have participated will bring those graces to their parishes. This can change the world if it spreads to all the Dioceses. More power to this program. God bless all of you.
But but, Bishop like more folk masses, so that everyone can feel welcome.
You know, bring your benjo and sing, rain down, rain down,
Mbuku: Yes. We like “Swing Low” at my folk Mass! :)
Its the feast of heaven and earth, the table of plenty.
“Gothic architecture” does not imply the architecture of the historical Goths. The term originated as a pejorative description: it came to be used as early as the 1530s by Giorgio Vasari to describe culture that was considered rude and barbaric. At the time in which Vasari was writing, Italy had experienced a century of building in the Classical architectural vocabulary revived in the Renaissance and seen as the finite evidence of a new Golden Age of learning and refinement.
My yoongest attended their chant camp over the summer, he loved it so much…he came home singing and said he loved it so much that he wants to sign up again next year. God bless St. Ann’es for offering all these!