Category Archives: Articles and books

Many generations of experience after the chant revival went into producing this 157-page book. The idea of the author, Joseph Robert Carroll, is to provide just what the singer needs to know to sing the entire corpus of chant within the context of a parish. It also helps prepare a person to lead chant. The tutorial is so much more clear than any of the guides that were previously produced before this book made its appearance in 1957. It avoids arcane issues and gets right to the subject of how to sing and sing beautifully.

The ChantCafe.com, a project of CMAA, is pushing a campaign to raise money for the composition and compiling of a complete set of English-language chant propers to be released into the commons in time for the new Missal translation. These musical settings can be used by any parish and are in keeping with the new emphasis of singing the Mass rather than merely singing at Mass. This one will be the first complete set of Introits, Offertories, and Communions (with complete Psalm verses) in print since the promulgation of the ordinary form – a remarkable fact but one that illustrates the importance of the project. These settings provide a bridge to truly sacred music! The project needs to be completed and posted for everyone.

The translation he uses is from the Roman Gradual. The propers will be stable through time, and belong to everyone forever. This effort will give sacred music the kick start that it needs.

To make your donation, which can be as small as $1, please go here to the page that allows these micro-commissions. To see all the posts related to this topic, browse the tag on the ChantCafe.

To know more, see Jeffrey Tucker’s article, “The Urgency of the English Propers Project.”

We are so pleased to announce the publication of Gregorian Chant: A Guide, by Dom Daniel Saulnier, newly published on the 1,000-year anniversary of the Solesmes monastery. This masterful presentation covers the history, structure, theology, liturgical function, and spirituality of the core music of the Roman Rite. The translation by Professor Edward Schaefer was first published in 2003 by Solesmes and went out of print. The CMAA has revived it as a means of educating a new generation of singers in the English-speaking world.

Special thanks to Andrew Bellenkes on this issue.

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