July 1-6, 2019
Monday, July 1
David Hughes welcomed the 238 participants in the 29th Sacred Music Colloquium, the second-highest attendance ever. After introducing the CMAA board and the Colloquium faculty, he thanked Cathedral rector Fr. Gerald Dennis Gill for his kind welcome and his work in making the Colloquium in Philadelphia possible.
David also introduced CMAA chaplain Fr. Robert Pasley, rector of Mater Ecclesiae parish in Berlin, NJ, who encouraged participants to take advantage of the Colloquium as an opportunity for spiritual benefit, with the sacrament of confession available daily in the cathedral and from all the attending priests at other times.
To complete the first evening’s events, David invited all to join in the singing of the Veni Creator and of Compline.
Tuesday, July 2
Sr. Maria Kiely, OSB, an instructor in Greek at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, presented a talk on the six vesper hymns long associated with the name of St. Gregory the Great: Lucis creator optime, Immensae caeli conditor, Telluris ingens conditor, Caeli Deus sanctissime, Magnae Deus potentiae, and Plasmator hominis Deus. The themes of the six hymns reflect the unfolding of creation in the six days of the Genesis account.
On Tuesday, a votive Mass of the Holy Angels was celebrated in English, with plainchant propers by Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB, and the Mass Ordinary from “Mass in Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea” by Michael Olbash, who was also organist for the Mass.
Wednesday, July 3
The plenary lecture Wednesday morning by Dom Alcuin Reid, “Reflections on authority in liturgy today”, is available on-line in full text at Catholic World Report.
Following the lecture, a choral reading session was held to introduce attendees to a selection of motets:
The sung Mass for this day, the feast of St. Thomas, apostle, was offered in Latin, according to the Roman Missal, third edition. The congregation sang the Gregorian Mass IV (“Cunctipotens genitor Deus”), and the organist for the Mass was Michael Garrepy.
Thursday, July 4
A votive Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe was offered in Spanish on this day, with plainchant propers in that language and polyphony mostly from Spanish composers. The Mass setting was La misa Caça by Cristobal de Morales. Among the motets sung were Ave gratia plena by Cornelius Verdonck, O celestial medicina by Francisco Guerrero and Adoramoste, Señor by Francisco de la Torre. The organist was Nathan Knutson.
Friday, July 5
On Friday afternoon, a solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated by Fr. Michael DeSaye for deceased members and benefactors of CMAA, with a choral-orchestral performance of the Requiem in C Minor by Michael Haydn (1737-1806). For contractual reasons, we’re only able to present the unaccompanied chants here.
Friday evening, Vespers were celebrated for the feast of St. Anthony Maria Zaccaria according to the traditional Roman office, with Fr. Robert Pasley, chaplain of CMAA, presiding. The choir was conducted by the Rev. Mr. Edward Schaefer, and the organist was Professor Ann Labounsky.
Saturday, July 6
The final Mass of the CMAA Colloquium was a votive Mass of the church’s patrons, SS. Peter and Paul, celebrated in the Extraordinary Form by the CMAA’s chaplain, Fr. Robert Pasley. The Mass Ordinary was the six-part Missa Tu es Petrus by Palestrina, and motets included Tu es Petrus by Fauré, Ave verum corpus by Philip Stopford, Cantate Domino by Pitoni and Ave Maria by Bruckner. The Conductors pictured are Dr. Timothy McDonnell and Charles Cole; the organist was Peter Carter. The final photograph shows the Colloquium participants gathered after the Mass.
Note: The Stopford Ave verum corpus is not included in the colloquium music book for copyright reasons.
Thanks to Charles Cole for the photos on this page.