Gregorian Chant Network at the London Oratory

CGMS members Helen Nattrass (left) and Ian Williams (right) meet composer James MacMillan

Ian Williams and I attended the bi-annual meeting of the Gregorian Chant Network on Saturday 18th February at the London Oratory. This informal association of chant groups, scholae and church choirs who sing Gregorian Chant lets us know who is doing what, where and when. The renowned Scottish composer James MacMillan was the guest speaker at the gathering. We heard  how Gregorian Chant has been a great source of inspiration for him and continues to influence his compositions. He spoke about the weight of tradition this music carries from earliest times, through the great music written over the centuries, to our own era.  James’s address was the core of the day. His words gave us all great encouragement to continue. During the breaks Ian and I chatted to lots of people from many parts of the country, and even from abroad! It was interesting to note that there are very few organisations like CGMS, which is a secular special interest society. Many groups are attached to particular parishes or denominations and only sing for Mass or the Offices. CGMS, in contrast, organises a variety of events such as our talks, our study days looking at Gregorian and other chant traditions, our participation in local events such as the Canterbury Festival and supporting patronal feasts in local churches. We dig up our own music from interesting sources and sing it ourselves.  It was invaluable to meet leaders of other groups and find out where they came from. We all now know we can sing along with Ben Whitworth’s Schola if we are in the Orkney Islands!

Many thanks to Joseph Shaw and his helpers from the Gregorian Chant Network for organising the day, updating their website with news and keeping us all in touch.

 www.gregorianchantnetwork.org

 

DAY OF CHANT: 24th MARCH 2012 in CANTERBURY

St. Ann and the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

We are holding a workshop day on the First Vespers of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from English Mediaeval sources. The music has been drawn from the Worcester Antiphoner and is believed to have originated in pre-conquest Saxon times. The Hereford Breviary has informed the order of service. Contemporaneous English sources have been used to complete the order of service. The day will be led by Philip Duffy of the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge. It will include talks about the sources and context of the music. Whilst some of the chants will suit more confident singers, much of the music is extremely approachable for beginners. We intend to run parallel sessions for beginners so that everyone will feel confident in joining in the Vespers Service which concludes the day at 5pm.

The Day of Chant will take place at St. Thomas’s Church, Burgate, Canterbury, CT1 2HJ. There is excellent access for the disabled.

Cost includes all music, handouts and refreshments, but not lunch.

£15 for CGMS Members, £25 for non-members

Application form below.

BVM Vespers Form

 

A MORNING OF ICONS on 11th February 2012

Icon by Amanda de Pulford

On Saturday 11th February 2012 Amanda de Pulford speaks about ‘Icons – method and meaning’ at the Franciscan International Study Centre, Giles Lane, Canterbury CT2 7NA. The event begins at 10.00 and runs to around 12.30. There will be ample time to view some icons and for discussion and questions and answers. Entry FREE for CGMS Members, £5 for non-members (includes refreshments). There will be a very brief AGM during this event.

Ikons and a Vespers Workshop

11th February 2012: ‘A morning with ikons’ by Amanda de Pulford (also brief AGM)

24th March 2012; ‘ First Vespers of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ all-day workshop with Philip Duffy (Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge) – event postponed from 2011.
More details of both these events early in 2012

Canterbury Festival 2011 – CGMS success

CGMS in St. Augustine’s Chapel

CGMS and the cast

Our ‘Angelus, Ave and Salve’ services were very well attended. They had the ring of authenticity in the wonderful mediaeval chapels where we sang. Our appearances in ‘The Dark Entry’ by local actor-playwright Alan Atkins, contributed to the sell-out-success of this event. Pictures above show us in our costumes singing in the chapel of St. Augustine’s, King’s School, and with the cast at the end of the play. Note the lashings of stage-blood on the poison-victims!

Canterbury Festival – We are in ‘The Dark Entry’ – a new play

‘The Dark Entry’, a new play by local actor/playwright Alan Atkins based on one of the Ingoldsby Legends, has its first run during Canterbury Festival. The play is set at the time of the reformation and concerns a corrupt cleric. The play is performed in the King’s School; that part adjacent to St. Augustine’s Abbey. The audience is led from room to room follwing the action. CGMS sings chant in those scenes set in the Chapel. Come and see the play and come and hear us between 17/10/11 and 26/10/11. Contact the Canterbury Festival box office for tickets.

CANTERBURY FESTIVAL – MEDIAEVAL HOSPITALS

St. Thomas of Canterbury - window from Canterbury Cathedral

We celebrate Canterbury’s Mediaeval Hospitals with Gregorian Chant on the Saturdays of the 2011 Canterbury Festival. ‘The Angelus, the Ave and the Salve’ will be sung at the traditional Angelus hour of 12.00.
Saturday 15th October: St. Thomas’s Hospital, Eastbridge, Canterbury
Saturday 22nd October: St. Nicholas’s Hospital, Harbledown, Canterbury
(10.30: short tour of St. Nicholas’s Hospital)
Saturday 29th October: St. John’s Hospital, Northgate, Canterbury
(10.30 short tour of St. John’s Hospital)

Rehearsal on 15th October at 11.15 in St. Thomas’s Hospital. On 22nd and 29th October, rehearsal is 11.30 in the respective Chapels. All are welcome to come and sing with us. There is no charge.