The Big Colloquium Post

First of all, I apologize for the scatteredness of this post. (Microsoft Word is telling me that “scatteredness” is not a word, but it should be.)

Although I’d been excited for months about the prospect of finally getting to attend the Sacred Music Colloquium, after wishing to for at last three years, the truth is that as the time drew near, I began to dread it. What if no one would talk to me? What if I was in an accident on the way there? (Pittsburgh/Allegheny County traffic is notoriously bad.) What if my roommate snored and I didn’t sleep the entire week? Etc. ad nauseum.

I left home at 6:30 a.m. Monday and drove to Columbus, where I would catch a ride with a person from that diocese, who intended to leave at 8:30 a.m. Despite missing an exit, I still arrived in time.

We arrived in Pittsburgh around noon, and proceeded to check in to the dorm. I’d wondered why he wanted to leave so early, considering official check-in was 2-5 p.m., with the opening talk given at 5 p.m. The truth was soon revealed; he’d assumed the first talk was at 1:30 – the same schedule as the chant intensive the week before. Sigh. So after wasting a few hours, I registered and held up a wall. Then I held up another wall. Soon, I saw another attendee holding up my first wall, so I went over and introduced myself; ultimately, Jennifer from Cleveland and I hung out quite a bit with each other through the week.

 View of downtown from a Duquesne walkway

Often, if I saw someone alone, I’d go up and introduce myself. Sometimes the person appreciated having someone to converse with, and other times it was clear that the person preferred to just be alone.

My roommate, Bernadette, was awesome and I loved her right away. She’s retired from the Army, has a Master’s in Music Education, is a composer, and sells rosaries on her website.

The schedule each day was grueling:
7 a.m.: Morning Prayer
7:30 a.m.: Breakfast
8:15-8:45 a.m.: Chant Rehearsal
10:00-11:00: Morning Breakout Session
11:30-12:30: Lunch
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.: Polyphony Rehearsal
3:00 p.m.: Mass
4:45-6:00 p.m.: Afternoon Breakout Session
6:15 – 8:00 p.m.: Dinner and Lecture
8:00 or so to 9:30 or so: Variable
9:30 or so: Night Prayer

The Duquesne Campus is quite hilly, so exercise, naturally, was to be had whether or not one wanted it. I for one was grateful for it.

There were five chant groups and five polyphonic groups to choose from. I chose the beginning chant and a polyphony group that would perform the Tallis Missa Brevis. Scott Turkington, who is the new organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Charleston, South Carolina, led the beginning chant group. Scott is a fantastic teacher, and I hope to attend the Chant Intensive next year at which Scott is the sole teacher. He also has a very unusual manner, with such a pleasant personality that he could scold without hurting feelings. I cannot say the same for my polyphony instructor, who seemed to be perpetually angry. The highlights of my group singing were on Friday, when our chant group sang the Communion Antiphon, which happened to be the Qui vult (LOVE IT), and on Sunday, when the polyphony group (which was much smaller than on Wednesday) sang Bruckner’s Vexilla Regis.

This is merely a cool top of building, and has nothing to do with this post.

A major highlight of the week was a series of lectures given by Fr. Mark Kirby, O.S.B. of Tulsa, Oklahoma. His first lecture should not be missed. He brought people to tears with his words, and he was a joyful, almost angelic priest who seemed to float instead of walk.

Morning (Lauds) and Evening (Compline) prayer, held at the campus chapel, were simply lovely, and the best way ever to begin and end the day. Men (Epistle side, on the right facing the altar) and women (Gospel side, on the left) were separated, and sang alternate psalm verses to avoid chanting in octaves.

Duquesne chapel in the background

Masses, both Ordinary and Extraordinary Form, were held at the beautiful Church of the Epiphany, adjacent to the campus.

 Church of the Epiphany

I learned that when singing two consecutive Communion Antiphon verses, the incipit is omitted from the second verse, and one should start directly on the reciting tone. Oops! I’ll make that change immediately. I also was given a chart that should make it easier to learn new chants; “perfect pitch”- combined with always associating “Do” with “C”, makes chant life very difficult.

One other person from this diocese was attending the Colloquium, and the two of us compared notes about our respective musical situations. Revealing the contents of our conversations would be saying too much!

Although the colloquium is billed as being ‘for everybody’, I think that’s not quite the case; beginners are likely to be quite frustrated because there is a level of knowledge that is assumed by the conductors. And there were some TRUE beginners there who didn’t know the most basic things about reading music. And believe it or not, there were a few there with no sense of pitch. Happily, their voices were drowned out by good singers.

I’m not sure I would attend the Colloquium again. If it’s held in Pittsburgh in the future, I’ll definitely travel up with the fam to attend some of the beautiful liturgies. Since the lectures are recorded by attendees and put online, I can learn from them free of charge. One of my hopes was to learn more about directing and conducting a choir, but that was not a focus of the week. It was a pleasure, though, to observe two conductors in particular (Buchholz and Brouwers) who are internationally well-known for good reason. I do hope, however, to attend the Chant Intensive next summer.

 I skipped out early on the last organ breakout session to get shots of the Allegheny County Courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh.  The stores all appear to close at 3 p.m. on Saturdays, so the city looks deserted.

There were many obviously holy people there, and it made me wonder if it’s easier to be outwardly Catholic at a Catholic university in a Catholic city. And it made me sad, too, because I want to be that way, and I fear that I’m not. I know that I’m not.

The bonus of the colloquium is its retreat value. The beauty of the music and the liturgies lead one straight to God, if one allows it, because that’s what true beauty does: it points heavenward.

The organ recital by the diminutive Isabelle Demers was fantastic. She’s a wonderful, charismatic performer.

I arrived home around 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening, exhausted and happy to be back with the fam. I’ve been processing some of the things I’ve learned, and wondering how best to implement some positive changes at the vigil Mass, all with Father’s permission, of course. I’d like the guys to chant the Introit as a prelude, and I just ordered a set of gorgeous Eucharistic motets by Kevin Allen. Other changes are a little more sensitive, so stay tuned for more news.