Perhaps you are wondering why you should attend a Chant Intensive course.
Here is the goal of the course:
To develop the theoretical and practical skills necessary for Gregorian chant performance. As a participant in the Chant Intensive course, you will understand basic Gregorian chant theory according to the Solesmes and other methods, and be able to transfer this knowledge from the written page to live performance as a singer or conductor in liturgy.
This course is where you can learn how to be an effective singer and/or conductor of chant for your own program wherever you live. Since Vatican II, it is not so easy to find a chant expert in your hometown. Learning the finer points of singing and/or directing chant is a lonely goal if you don’t happen to be lucky enough to have a teacher near you. This course allows you to gain the knowledge you need to either sing in a schola or start your own chant group as a director. Whether you just want to be able to sing the new English Missal chants effectively or you want to work toward the goal of singing the Latin propers from the Graduale, this course is for you.
While offering much information about the theoretical concepts, the course is geared toward live performance of chant. You will learn:
1. Reading the four-line staff ● Clefs ● Principles of Solfege ● Basic Neumes ● More complex neumes ● Bar lines
2. Introduction to Chant Rhythm ● Solesmes Method history and application ● Principles of Arsis and Thesis ● The Ictus ● Counting ● Alternative approaches Semiology overview
3. The Gregorian Modes ● Basic Modal structure: Finals, Dominants, Ranges ● The Major Modes ● The Minor Modes
4. Mass Ordinaries ● The Kyriale ● Mass settings in English
5. Mass Propers ● The Gregorian Propers ● English Alternatives
6. The Art of Psalmody ● Antiphonal singing ● Pointing the Psalms
7. Chant Hymns ● Singing the Divine Office
8. Mass preparation for June 12, 2014 (Duquesne University Chapel, 5:00pm) ● Ordinary of the Mass (Mass TBD) ● Propers for the Solemnity of Pentecost
Textbooks include the Gregorian Missal (Solesmes) and the Parish Book of Chant (CMAA).
If you have put off making the trip to take this course in the past, make this the year for intensively studying chant. Registration for Summer Chant Intensive is still open, so register today. The dates for this year’s Summer Chant Intensive are June 9-12, 2014. The course will be held again at Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh. For more information about the instructors and details regarding registration, visit this page.
Details about college credit through Duquesne University’s music department are available here. If you have other questions, write to us.