In Chicago there are at least two Roman Catholic congregations where Latin masses are programmed regularly alongside masses in many other languages (English, Spanish, Polish etc.) according to the local populations. The best known is St. John Cantius, near downtown, where they also occasionally perform full orchestral masses in liturgical setting. I sang a Latin Christmas midnight mass at the Shrine of the Christ the King in the Hyde Park neighborhood, near the University of Chicago. (They shut the heaters off during the service so that the congregation could hear - it got QUITE cold!) Both churches have volunteer schola cantorum groups which perform very good Gregorian chant.
The tradition is not dead, but it is a select taste. Chicago is large enough to support some activity. Richard Hirsh --------------- Several people have posted: It would also be awkward to fit pre-Vatican II works into post-Vatican II masses. What you are more likely to find is putting liturgy into a performance of a mass. Conja Could be one reason you never got any takers is because the priests weren't sure how they'd program it as part of the Mass while retaining the expected liturgical content (by both the priest and parishioners) within time constraints. Also, it may be that the priest is the wrong person to approach, as he may not have the musical background to know what is and isn't a good idea. A church with a good music director (not just someone who bellows louder than the rest of the choir while directing tired hymns) who has a good working relationship with the pastor and a pastor that knows their limits when it comes to musical decisions would be most likely able to accommodate such a deviation from the norm. Of course, it's hard to find those simply by looking at the signs outside the building. John Baumgart To veer slightly away from the subject of weddings in church, It seems that most of the great masters wrote Masses for choir and orchestra. I've asked a couple of Catholic priests if it would be appropriate to perform a composed Mass as part of a Mass instead of just as a performance. (did that sentence make any sense?). I never got any takers, but has anyone else ever been a part of something like that? I think I've heard of Requiem Masses being performed at a funeral, but I'm thinking more of a regular Mass. Having played what passes for music these days at the Catholic church a few too many times, I would be excited to play some real music and I think it would be a very uplifting experience for the parishoners. - Steve Mumford ___________________ _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
