Sandy Hook Benefit Concert

As we all continue to mourn the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, the question is raised what can I do to help repair the damage, ease the grief, and support the victims families. As Newtown itself is bombarded by media and visitors with good intentions, it seemed to me like the best thing to do was just to pray for the people that God comfort them. And yet, I found myself wishing I could do more.
For this reason, I was honored and blessed by the opportunity to play at a Sandy Hook Elementary Benefit Concert last Saturday in Salem, CT. My musical training as a part of Gloriae Dei allows me to participate in the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, and the corps was invited to participate in this great event. A representation of the Cadets hornline played Shenandoah, Simple Gifts, American Elegy, Doxology on Amazing Grace, and Philip Bliss as a small segment to close the concert. The event raised $4200 for the Sandy Hook Elementary Foundation and I was blessed to have given of myself for the victims of this tragedy.

To Sing is to Pray Twice

Maybe, in the shadow of the unexplainable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary - when words seem unbelievably small and incapable - music might bring some solace.

A Whole New Meaning

On October 13th we returned to the Oklahoma City Memorial on our way back to Tyler, TX.  It had a whole new meaning being there a second time. After reviewing the history, through an American History project, it meant more to me. On this visit I was told about little Baylee Almon - the baby in the famous picture being carried out by the firefighter. She had just celebrated her first birthday the day before the bombing and I realized that she would be about my age today! 
Hearing her story gave me something to really relate to.

Another Dimension

On Sunday we sang at First Presbyterian Church in Tyler, TX. Our program was different here and included the Howells' Requiem in the second half.  These texts which we are blessed to sing become quite personal at times. There were moments while singing the Requiem where I felt completely overcome with emotion...without any warning at all!  It was a reminder to me that there is always a spiritual dimension at work when we share sacred texts and the gift of music. By the same token we have a responsibility to try to live the words we sing, which feels daunting at times!  I had a sense that those who came to Sunday's concert were captivated by this beautiful music and it's message.  I am so grateful to have been a part of this exchange.  

Point of View - A Rich History

I was asked to join the choir on the Oklahoma portion of their tour to do some videotaping. I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the choir members who have been in the ensemble for over 25 years. During my interviews I was struck by GDC's rich history, and how this history speaks each time they sing. Some of the members spoke about their experience of traveling to Russia in the early 90's. Of being the first American choir brought in behind the Iron curtain – and the privilege of being able to sing to the people of Russia, in their own Russian language, music that had been withheld from them for many years. I was also struck by their extensive training in Gregorian Chant and how more and more people are gravitating toward this pure form of music.

GDC has an intense commitment to singing truthfully, both technically and spiritually, which makes them unique from other groups. Some of the members I interviewed spoke of when they first entered the choir they were among the youngest members and now they are the oldest members - how they now feel responsible to pass on to the young people who are now training in GDC, the history, the training, the faith, and the mission this world renowned ensemble embodies.

Aural Tradition

It was wonderful to see so many turn out for our Gregorian Chant workshop in Tulsa at Trinity Episcopal Church. But what most gladdened my heart was that, for the first time in a workshop, there was a young family who came with two children under the age of 12.
The boy must have been 9 and sat with his father in the front row on the men’s side; and the girl, 11, sat with her mother on the women’s side. Both eagerly followed along as their parents pointed to the Latin texts (well, maybe the girl not so much). Sometimes the boy would just sit and offer wide-eyed, cherubic smiles, when I looked over to see if he was “getting it”.
The important thing is they were there - and it was obvious that their parents wanted them to be exposed to Gregorian Chant. Right next to the boy sat an elderly man who didn’t need the booklet at all, he mouthed all the Latin texts by heart. What a surreal juxtaposition!
It confirmed for me, in a very real way, that this is an aural tradition that has stood the test of time – passed from generation to generation. There is tremendous power in that, whether one “gets it” or not.

Nunc Dimittis

Last night in Tulsa, about 150 people attended an evening chant conference learning basics of Gregorian Chant as related to the office of Compline. At the end of the evening the entire conference processed - with lights dimmed, candles lit, and incense burning - to chant the service of Compline. We also had a smaller group of cantors learn the gradual "angelus suis mandavit de te....." and chanted it as part of the evening service. We chose that particular gradual because it is based on the text of Psalm 91, the central psalm of Compline. It was really quite wondrous to see a group transformed.  To watch a group of so many individuals melt into a single group just by chanting the office together. "Though we are many, we are one body......"

Enjoying the Dance!

Tonight we perform at Trinity Episcopal Church in Tulsa, OK.  This beautiful stone church has a vibrant, warm acoustic and there is a sense that many fervent  prayers have been spoken here.  It would be easy to over-sing because of how much the sound swirls inside.  Much of our rehearsal yesterday was spent in taking each concert piece and adjusting balance to this space so that the clarity of text and composers' vision remain clear. So much of music making is like a well-choreographed dance, learning the sensitivity of when to come forward and making way for other parts in turn. It is a true joy to be a part of this process! I pray that our voices tonight will join the spirit of worship that is so alive in this  space.

"Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing"

We had the tremendous opportunity yesterday, as we traveled from Lubbock, TX to Tulsa, OK, to stop at the Oklahoma City National Memorial honoring those whose lives were lost on April 19, 1995 in the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building.  I had personally been once before but for some reason yesterday caught me by surprise and I was moved to tears by the memorial, and the story of that day and the lives that were lost or forever changed.  It's sobering when I stop to realize that life, which feels so ongoing and permanent, can be gone in an instant.  And it challenges me in my faith - am I living each day the way God wants me to - or more worried about myself?  We were encouraged by our director to look at the memorial bearing in mind the piece we are performing by Herbert Howells - "Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing".  Set to a 4th century poem by Prudentius, Howells was commissioned to compose the work for a joint American-Canadian memorial service for John F Kennedy, and actually sung 19 years later for Howells' own memorial service.  Walking amongst the chairs in the memorial's Field of Empty Chairs, the text rolled over in my heart: "Once was this a spirit's dwelling, by the breath of God created.  High the heart that here was beating, Christ the Prince of all its living....Take him, earth, for cherishing, to thy tender breast receive him.  Body of a man I bring thee, noble even in its ruin."
This will add a new layer of subtext the next time we sing this piece - names and faces to go with the words.  As we piled quietly back on the bus, I took one more look at the beautiful statue of Jesus weeping that was placed across the street where the rectory of the Catholic church stood before the bombing.  The sculptor captured such strength of emotion in His face - and I can imagine those arms receiving each soul that we here on earth commit to Him.  "Take, O take him, mighty Leader, take again they servant's soul."   

Now

Seeing the pictures from the choir's visit to the Oklahoma City Memorial gave me pause. Even though this tragedy happened 17 years ago -the remembrance, unease, and pain surprised me like a gasp.  I realized that that the immediacy of "now" is universal. The reality of now is true - so fresh that it can not be spun or altered.  Sometimes a composer traps that now in the notes of his composition - the notes so real, the ache so fresh that when it comes off the page it's "now" all over again.  Howell's "Take Him Earth for Cherishing" is just such a piece.

A touch of home

Wow, my first choir tour - so much to take in!  This past Wednesday night, after rehearsal in the church where we would be giving our first concert, we had dinner in Amarillo Texas at the home of a couple from the church we were singing in.  They generously invited the entire choir for an evening of food and fellowship. Not always being one who finds it easy to start conversations, I actually felt very relaxed and natural.  It was a great atmosphere and fantastic food, but for me, the best part was their dogs. They had 4 dachshunds,  cute and well behaved. Having two short pugs at home it was comforting to engage with these sweet furry creatures.  When I couldn't resist any longer - I picked one up!  Holding him made my day. What a great way to end the night! 

Getting Out of the Way

Last night we gave our first concert of the tour at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Amarillo, TX.  As the last light of day streamed through the windows of this beautiful stone church we sang our opening piece Crux triumphans, an early French polyphonic piece written by Compere around 1485.  What a privilege it is to perform these sacred pieces, some contemporary, some hundreds of years old and share the message of these texts. Our work, in part, is to make these words vibrant and alive for people today!  Since all of the music is memorized, we do not have the distraction of scores and looking up and down.  We aspire to have the music and text so much a part of us that we are able to "get out of the way"- to move together as a group in every subtlety and allow the beauty of this music and it’s message to ring true on it's own.  Can we be so passionate about becoming the music that there is no thought to ourselves?  I pray that we were able to do this in part last night, and that those who came to St. Andrew's were left with something meaningful.

Work

As a new writer to the site - one who isn't actually in the choir - I'm always trying to expand my vision to what this work is really all about.  And there it was - work.  What an all-encompassing word. Such a mundane hard labor, sweat of the brow, hands in in the dirt kind of word - yet linked to art and emotion at it's very core. Paintings and sculptures of particular beauty are called works of art, actors acclaimed in a play do great work, composers title their major compositions "opus" (latin for work).  Gloriæ Dei is all about the work.  Not (only) what it takes to learn and breathe new life to every piece they perform - but the work God does in each one of them as they give themselves to the process. And in turn, the work God does in all those who hear their music.
"....being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."     Phil 1:6

Artistic restoration

We arrived in Amarillo Texas on Monday afternoon for our 5 city tour of Texas and Oklahoma.  Tuesday was spent working in sections or individually in the morning, reviewing the fine points we've been working on for the past few weeks, followed by a group rehearsal in the afternoon.  Today was our first pre-concert rehearsal at St.Andrew's Episcopal Church in Amarillo.  It's a beautiful church with lovely acoustics - a pleasure to sing in.   As we worked our way through the concert program, diving ever deeper into the expression of each piece, I was struck by how we will never reach the end of what a piece has to offer, or what we can bring to it to give it its most true interpretation.  It makes me think of old works of art in European cathedrals or catacombs, layers of dust and grime and renovation piled on top of a masterpiece.  Delicate and detailed work is required to peel back the layers without destroying the vision at the bottom.  That's what we strive to do with these centuries of sacred music - the fine, detailed work to peel back the individual interpretations and restore the image to what the artist intended!

The Lord is my shepherd

While singing the Howells Requiem this morning, there is a section based on the promise that He will keep thy soul. Howells personal agony over the loss of his son is so bittersweet. It slips by my mind and directly into my heart. I can't control my emotions because of the comfort that I am not alone to face things too big for me.

Aching Heart

I was watching the News last night. Anyone who knows me knows I don't do that very often. "Its just a lot of suffering that I can't do anything about." I thought. Then this morning when we were singing the "Jesu, meine Freude" by Bach and I realized there is something I can do.  I can sing this with the intention of my whole heart and hope that it soothes someones aching heart.  A few years ago on a tour we sang in the town of Joplin, MO and the intention was clear for us. Ease their aching hearts...
Jesus, my friend...

Heart to Heart

We are one week out today....a week from tomorrow we will board our bus for our two week tour of Texas and Oklahoma.  And today we were "finessing".  Someone once said "music is the international language that communicates heart to heart"  Isn't that true?  Do you have to find words to express that chord that makes your spine tingle?  Or that hush of a triple piano dynamic on the text "see if there is any sorrow like unto my sorrow".  Don't we all feel it?  I felt it today -and it isn't because we're just so amazing.  It's what happens when a group of people come together with their differing opinions and commit to expressing what the composer intended - and what the words inspired him to intend.  The language that communicates heart to heart...

You owe it to your composer...

Today when we were finished with a full run through of Howells "Take him earth for cherishing", the director asked what were we thinking about while we were sang it from memory....Well, it was things like rhythm, or words, or "oh no did I forget to turn off my cell again?". Regretfully it was not Howells tragic loss or Americas loss of JFK....

When I first pick up a piece of new music I notice if the cover has art or not.  (For some reason that is my very first thought. Maybe it came from looking at my moms' piano music when I was playing under the "piano fort" as she practiced when I was little. As an adult I have kept up the habit with no thought about it....til now).

  That is followed by what key, how many parts, notes (are there lots of really black ones!!?), and all the other things that one has to use to learn the composers work.  I have never on my own, picked up a piece and ask first "what is the composer trying to communicate"?  I think I am missing the forest for the trees.  If I think about what I'm going to say before I open my mouth to speak, chances are much better that I won't get lost and whoever is listening will understand me much better. Music is no different.

You have to know where you are heading even if you don't know where you will end up.

Suffering in Exile

We were working on our tour music today and picked up the Lamentations of Jeremiah by Alberto Ginastera.  When we started working on the second movement based on the words "Ego vir videns, ego paupertatem meam" which, loosely translated means, "I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his (Gods') wrath".  There is such a deep sense of miserable agony with no clear release.  The movement starts in the bass line and slowly stretching up to tenor, then alto is added, and finally soprano.
The piece is so haunting that I had to find out more about Mr Ginastera. So I googled him and found some of his history on a website for Seattle Choral Company .  When he wrote this piece around 1942 he was in exile from Argentina and was living in the United States. The work later in the third movement does resolve itself, but the long painful line in the second movement is one of the best settings of this kind of suffering without any anger towards God.  As a matter of fact the moving upward line between the parts gives the sense of prayer in quiet resignation.  While this text was from a Jewish event many centuries before, it reminds me that suffering is not unique to time or space. 

Wardrobe cases

Whenever we roll out the black wardrobe cases and pack them full of the tubs of all of the "need thats'"....shoes, scarves, steamers, safety pins, threads and needles, dresses and tuxes... Its time to get ready for a choir tour. 

Like any other creating process this is when the real self pressure starts.  "Do I know my words ?", "Which shoes should I take ?", "Is my job covered?" and the real question we all ask," Will they see something of God in our music the way I do?" 

I sincerely hope so.

Todays rehearsal

Today we had a chance to go back and sing music from the French Recording that we will sing on tour.  It was fun to pull it out together, dust it off and sing together.  One of my favorites is Benedícta es cælórum Regína by Josquin des Prez from our new recording Sacred Songs of France, Volume I: 1198-1609.  The alto line is really far down there and a ball to sing.  The recording will be released in October, but you can listen to a bit of it here. Enjoy!

Dancing with Angels

Picture in your minds' eye the glitter of sun sparkling off of small pieces of gold tessare, brilliant contrasts of orange and blue, with smokey incense curling in the sunshine up high.
Then listen, you can hear voices dancing around the stone apse singing " Angels and Archangels" from the Missa choralis mass by Franz Liszt. This part of the mass always sounds like a waltz to me. There is so much gracefulness and joyful respect you are  swept away for a moment. For that stretch of time you feel there is no space between Heaven and Earth.
It can transfigure your life.

Tradition

Evensong is a old tradition in the church. When I was nineteen I spent almost a year with my parents in Cambridge England. One of my very favorite things to do was to ride my fold-up bicycle to St Johns College for evensong. The sun would be starting to go down across the Backs (the grassy area behind the colleges where the River Cam travels through).
We also sing evensong at our church and it's still magically peaceful. And the sun setting thru the stained glass and the gold wall around it is gorgeous.

Take him earth

Today we spent some time in the Church of the Transfiguration (which is where Gloriae Dei Cantores calls home) singing some tour music. The beauty of the art and the acoustics are so rewarding to experience singing in. We sang the piece that Howells wrote for JFK (Take Him, Earth for Cherishing) around the font. Its so haunting especially this time of year when we remember the shared loss of 9/11. I love it when a work becomes of the moment like that. It makes your singing something you have to do-  living in the moment.

The knife edge of Bach

At nine o'clock this morning our tour choir gathered itself into a few circles and started singing Jesu, meine Freude by Johann Sebastian Bach. We have sung this work over the years- long enough for me to change from a second soprano to a first alto. The first time we took this on tour I was pregnant with my third child who would tumble around in response to it. This was the only work she would do this with... so I always had a small smile....

 I have strong feelings when I hear this work. One of my favorite sections is Gute Nacht, or Good Night.  Which to me is the story of a soul turning from the goals and attractions of the world and turning to face God.  As with any really great composer it is so easy to get lost in the music and become unaware of your technique.  It is a fine balance between style and emotion that is a challenge for any singer if you are too aware of keeping clean style you can sound like a cold machine and if you are too emotional you are mushy and wobble all over the place !  So here's hoping we can balance on the knifes edge.....

At the Service of the Music

I was reading an interview today with Joshua Bell.  He was answering Jeff Kaliss from San Francisco Classical Voice  about what he wears during a performance. In his answer about clothes was this phrase, "At the service of the music".  I know he was talking about not limiting his range of motion with his body, but that phrase could be applied to everything that we do when we are preparing any piece of music.

As a singer I am looking at the piece of music and running a checklist of what sound placement in my body and head I need, the style of the music,phrase length, and many other things. (honestly its'a lot like a pilots pre flight check...including the crash and burn if you are not all set before you launch!)

If you have everything as it should be however, there is a connection inside your body that I always think of as the place for my heart and soul. It sometimes leaps with joy, like seeing a loved one after years, or the first look at your new baby's face, then sometimes it just quietly babbles like a running brook, or is still as a mirror. 

What could be more rewarding ?

New look at an Old Friend

Saturday I was raking a shell path. Picking up old leaves and combing through the nearby grass with my hands to put back the white bits of shell that were so obviously out of place.  I felt a deep satisfaction when I looked back and saw how clean it was.
Today we were working on a old Christmastime friend, The Messiah by Handel.  Just about everyone knows enough of this work to hum along in one place or another.  The catch is that we are using a different edition (Barenreiter) than in the past. So "His yoke is easy, and his burthen is light" was not quite the same.  As with the white shells, the notes that were not right became obviously out of place. So we gathered our metronome and tuning fork and repeated our lines slower and then up to tempo until they were right.  This took determination to not miss anything or accept notes not written. But when the rehearsal was over, like the shell path, I thought back and felt deep satisfaction at how clean we became. Now when I sing this I will not be thinking about notes and rhythm but about the joy the words really contain "his yoke is easy, and his burthen is light".

Memory work

How a thing grows in the human memory, in the human imagination, when love, worship, and all that lies in the human heart, is there to encourage it.
      - Thomas Carlyle

 I was groping for words to explain why it is so important to Gloriae Dei Cantores to memorize our concert music (as well as our recording music).  I came across this quote and there was that inner hum of recognized  truth.  Thomas Carlyle has expressed our position perfectly.   It is a kind of "falling in love" that happens when there is no paper barrier between the singer and listener.  When the singer is not distracted by the markings and the "science" of following what is on the page, and instead has to listen to what the heart says, then there is real music. 

  There has been a lot of talk about how Classical Music has to be come more accessible to the listener.  Isn't this the answer ?  Be in the moment, share the experience.

Our Next Release

 We just got this cover approved a few days ago. I couldn't wait to show it off!
When the cover image for a recording is chosen we have in our minds' ear what the recording's personality is.  This recording to me was one of the most elegant, sometimes strong, and sometimes delicate to sing.  We learned the music had to come directly from the Heart, or it was clumsy and awkward.
 
This recording will be available by October First.

Now apply !

Part of the fun of taking Master Classes is applying what we've learned to our rehearsal times and discovering places where the techniques can be used...so if you were a fly on the wall in the choir rehearsal room today you would have heard us stopping and reminding each other of some of the tips that Dr White taught us in Master Class.

Its so interesting to see how the human mind works.  There are things I have been told by my friends for years and I just didn't hear it until one day when all of a sudden whatever it was made perfect sense.  That happened for some people with these classes. Oprah talks about the "aha moments", and that's exactly what they are....So, today we said "aha".

Thank you Dr Robert White.

Clear bloom

The difference in the human voice between good and great is amazing when in the hands of a master (well and a student who's willing). A change in a tongue position and suddenly the voice rings clear. It's like Christmas day when something you have taken to the practice room and addressed over and over becomes easy to fix with a suggestion. All the vocalists that have sung in this master class have had voices changed. Dr Robert White has energy and knowledge to spare. (with our choir of personalities that's a very good thing!)

Robert White

We've just started two days of master class with Dr White from NYC and his magic is already being heard as he works with individual singers! We are all at different levels of training and he's able to meet us where we are. To hear a voice open up with a different way of thinking, just one thought...amazing and brilliant.

Besides beauty, what is there?

I was driving somewhere listening to the local classical radio station and I was struck by the realization that I need more than beauty, I need contrasts of ugly and beauty, weakness and strength, black and white. Without these in my life I would not have the things that give my life interest. Music naturally has that. As a matter of fact if it was all the same, no one would have given it a second listen....

Desire

does anyone share the desire for beauty? This is the beauty that wraps around you and restores your soul, not the kind that's like candy- appeals to the eye, but never gets under your skin.  When I was small my parents took me to concerts, ballets, and shows in NYC.  I fell in love with dancing first.  My parents were somewhat surprised when I piped up in my little voice that I wanted to be a ballerina.  I remember the conversation well. 
Whatever they said worked.  While I never became a dancer (especially in public!) I always retained the desire for beauty.  The word beauty is the closest word I can find, Jon Bon Jovi calls it a moment of perfection.  Some people call it inspiration, but whatever the word, if you are at all distracted you will miss it.  To have moments like this are rare because of that or if the performer is distracted by either a technical mark they want to hit or a personal problem, you can walk away from a two hour performance and not feel a thing. Almost worse is a perfect moment that is only technical. Then you can lose someone from the art because they know it was good and felt...nothing.
Even though I am talking about dancing, the same applies to whatever Art form that is used. Music of any kind, dance, theater, even a marching band. This is what we aspire to.

New Endorsment

"I am an ardent fan of Gloriae Dei Cantores! The Chants of Mary, by the Gloriae Dei Cantores Men's Schola is a wonderful and faithful recording of ancient chants that still speak volumes today. Chant has a timeless and universal quality, though it was developed in a specific era of the western church. Likewise, a proper understanding of Mary's role in salvation history, and her modeling of life in the church is making her popular again among all Christians. This recording captures the best of this reality!"

    

John Michael Talbot

Founder, Minister General, and Spiritual Father

The Brothers and Sisters of Charity

Unsolved Mysteries

There is a mystery I have been trying to solve.  It seems uncanny how when a singer or performer has an intent in their heart the listener can frequently just "know".

Is this from when we are young and have to understand all the unspoken words when listening to the spoken? Or is it always there in us? Do we all have different levels of "knowing" when we listen, or is there a common knowledge of what is right to your ear?

I wrote in a previous posting about Savage Beauty, this is what caught my muse! What may be Savage to some could be innocent to others, or do we all share a grounding place, somehow knowing what should be and what isn't ?

Art for the sake of beauty

The dictionary identifies the word beauty as " the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit".

when I first started thinking about the word I imagine things that have a definable color and shape that is pleasing to me. As I have gotten older I realize that beauty can me many things, and that there is a place for savage beauty. Some of the music that we sing qualifies as a savage beauty. The human condition makes it necessary. While we are an advanced species there are times when something visceral can connect with us in a way that is more satisfying than a gentle well turned phrase.

Beautiful music

I am sitting here writing while listening to a new recording that is coming in soon.  Its called Chants of Mary and its beautiful.  Really it is captivating...the voices of the men all blend together to sound like one voice with many colors.  There is something about having men sing about her that blesses me. You can either click here or look on Paraclete Press website.  I hear the recording should be in house on Monday the 30th of July. We have presold a record amount so be quick ! 

Christmas in July!

As is often the case when working in the Arts, we spent our rehearsal time today in a beautiful air-conditioned room singing new works for Advent Lessons and Carols !  What a change of direction that is on a hot day in July...We have some challenging pieces and some more simple pieces (which can actually be more difficult to pull off).  But as is our usual, the programming is varying in style, but cohesive in concept.

So, a Merry Christmas to all !!

So cool

Got our all music for next quarter!!! The services, the tour music, and the Advent Lesson and Carols music. We are also getting ready to celebrate our 25th year of GDC...so that's a concert every month- Cant wait to get started !

All done!

With the French masters recording in the can, we have a small window of freedom. Of course for us we may sing less, but you never completely stop if you love it like we do. So until we get our next large stack of music, you'll find us singing chant, working on personal lesson music, or singing along with whatever's playing! So we may be all done, but we're never finished...

Love and Faith

Well, we made it through the first tech week for the Early French Masters recording.
We can't do this kind of practice without the support of our bosses, friends, spouses, and kids.  They pick up as much of what we do during the week as they can and every one of us is grateful.

On to the last week of rehearsals... which is when we do our best to breathe into the music our Love and Faith.
Most singers are aware that emotions are an important part of the process. It changes the color and tone in your voice and physical sensations in your body. So this is the time when we pay special attention to what our intentions are within each piece.  And since every composer has their own style, we also have the joy of discovering and then sharing all of that with the people who listen to our music.  What a gift!

French Recording tech week one

For those who are not familiar with how Gloriae Dei Cantores lays down some sound, we have two weeks of tech week before a recording.  Often there are a few extra hours put into practice to get a piece just right....This is one of my favorite times! Like touring we have a chance to spend time together pursuing a common goal.  All the other worries have to wait until we are done for the day. 
So here we go with a smile, coughdrops, and a water bottle !

A Challenge

One of the concepts that is we always strive for in music is creating Beauty through finding the most truthful or honest sound. 
This is actually a bigger challenge than it might seem with the human voice.  Over the years we tend to change or modify our voices as we mature.  Usually based on what we hear in our own head, lliterally. How many men can say that they didn't try to force their voice lower when they were teens and it wasnt changing fast enough to a mature sound ?  How many women tried to moderate their voice to sound sweet and feminine instead of a shrew? (I know I did!) In many ways isn't it part of the same social pressure to be pretty or handsome...or thin..? 
However you managed to make it to an adult, finding different voices that use all of the systems that are in your body to enhance your sound is a lifes' work.  Since your body is always changing and adapting there is a fresh challenge every day to manage. One thing is for sure, its never boring!

the wonder of Pentecost

      Church of the Transfiguration was decorated with a brilliant red when we processed into our service this week. It is such a stark contrast to the white we have had for the Easter Season. The service itself was a celebration of Pentecost, or the coming of the Comforter, which was reflected in the music that was shared.
      Anyone who is familiar with Vaughn William's Pilgrims Progress would have appreciated the postlude, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit," sung by a baritone soloist (the character Watchful the Porter) and accompanied by a small orchestra. Our church could afford the space for the singer to walk away as he was singing the end of the piece. What a perfect "goodbye for now."
     This past Sunday was the last service sung by Gloriae Dei Cantores until after our summer break. We don't stop singing, we just sing other things. We will record the music of the "Early French Masters" that we have been working on, as well as receive the next set of service music for the fall term, and the music for the next recording (another French Masters set), and memorize the music for our Fall tour. So the word "break" is not that accurate; better to say,"doing something different" maybe!

New Hovhaness Review

We got this review this morning from Audiophile Magazine. "...it surely fills a longtime gap that sheds new light on a facet of his huge output as well as his growing reputation and place in the pantheon of American music. A very well done disc, superbly sung."  
Click here for whole review
Steven Ritter
Audiophile Magazine

Whats your opinion?

Every morning I enter a room with about forty five other people and mentally leave my cares, worries and concerns at the door in an imaginary trash can.  I do this so that for the next hour or two I am at rehearsal.  Now it doesn't always work the way I want it to, but I give it the best I can because I know the people around me are doing the same thing.

My goal is to be completely involved in what I am doing because that is what the art requires of me. Another item placed in that trash is well, is my pride so when I make a mistake I can listen and know that we are all on the team together to make the best music we can.

Shouldn't this be as important as knowing your scales, rhythm, history and all the other things that make a music lover into a musician ?

What do you think ?

Holy Spirit recording in the can !

The Gloriae Dei Womens Schola just finished a recording that I have heard a rumor about.  I hear its going to be fantastic...by someone who would be in the know! The programming is apparently very creative and will be a joy to listen to. (And could be a better subject than the Holy Spirit for a little exploring ?) 

Oh Boy!!

You know when there is a band concert like at the Boston Pops 4th Celebration and they have a guest conductor?  Well, Friday I found myself conducting a professional grade choir.  It seems so effortless when the conductor or assistant conductor wave their arms in perfect time communicating everything the singer needs to know....well...you guessed it !  Its not easy at all.

 At one point during rehearsal I found my arm in a Saturday Night Fever position clearly fully extended away from my body.  Just imagine being surrounded by fresco, mosaic and carved wood with a whisper of incense left from a service with your arm all the way stretched as far as possible toward the arched ceiling of a stone church.  There is no subtle way to get that thing down! So I went for the back of the head scratch and didn't fool any of the forty plus choir members....my only comfort is any one of them could be the next conductor!!!

You will be glad to know that everything turned out just fine.  The Evensong service was very peaceful. Somehow all of my anxiety and late night conducting rehearsals faded away and what became important was worshiping God. Turns out God's Grace can happen anywhere- and I was working with musicians that know what they are doing.  

However, I was happy to slip into my role as "first alto seated at the end of the row". Back to memorizing the French Recording music. ..and my next challenge is to sound French.  This should be interesting as long as I keep my sense of humor.

September 2012 Release

Come hear Salve Regina from the new Chant recording called:  Chants of Mary by the Gloriae Dei Cantores Men's Schola.  This was done in SACD format and the sound is awesome !  The cover art reflects love and dedication that you can hear in the voices when you listen. It is available for purchase here.

Upcoming tour to be announced soon

One of the favorite things the choir loves to do is tour.  It gives us great joy to work closely with our friends and share what we do in person.  We were talking in choir rehearsal (briefly!) that there is nothing like a live performance by someone who loves their art...that there is a atmosphere created that people are drawn to.

Br Richard has been working on our tour for a while now and things seem to be falling into place. I should have some information to share here in the next week or so.

Meanwhile, we are entering tech week for the Women's Chant recording featuring chants dedicated to The Holy Spirit. The rest of us are working on the next French recording (as well as weekend services).

I have to say I can't remember the last time I was bored...

Next Gloriae Dei Cantores Recording

Well we are also working on the next recording for the choir dedicated to the French Masters.  While it is a lot of work to memorize before a recording, there is a freedom when you don't have to look down at your music or try to turn pages quietly ! 
Seemingly simple, this style of music begs for nuances to be noticed which means as a choir we have to weave and bend to each others voice part.  It is a true expression of teamwork which we find rewarding.  (And yes, the memory work is really work !!)

Our Next Chant Recording

The halls of our rehearsal space are echoing with the sounds of practice for the next recording by the Women's Schola group.  This recording is dedicated to Gregorian Chants specifically for the Holy Spirit.  The emotions that are explored range from the questioning, the joy, and the explosion of the First Pentecost.   Its strange how you can just take these kinds of emotions in stride until you pull all of these pieces together then you realize how important this event is when you see it reflected in the chant.

New Hovhaness Recording Review

"It is hard to imagine a more committed group for Hovhaness than Gloriæ Dei Cantores ('Singers to the Glory of God') . . . . the quality of the singing and recording are extremely high. Equally high is the quality of the 32-page booklet. Lavishly illustrated with attractive background imagery, it contains an overview of Hovhaness's life and musical creed, brief discussion of the works performed, and usefully reproduces all sung texts.

Hats off to Gloriæ Dei Cantores and their musical director Elizabeth C. Patterson. This much-needed disc helps reduce a gaping hole in the Hovhaness discography, and should go some way to introduce these very accessible works to choirs and music lovers alike, especially outside of the United States, where they remain virtually unknown."

Marco Shirodkar

Whole Article here.

Two new recordings in the house !!

Gloriae Dei Cantores has two new recordings in the house!   

Our new Alan Hovhaness: From the Ends of the Earth

                                                 And my personal favorite Herbert Howells

to buy click here

New Hovaness Recording

coming in February

 

 

 

Our new SACD recording is coming out soon !

For track listing and information click here:

Paraclete Press