Sancta Missa

I returned on Friday night from the Sancta Missa workshop for the laity in Chicago. After normal Masses as well as THREE weddings over the weekend, and trying to move in between all that, I have finally settled into my new apartment, and now have a couple minutes to write about the conference (before my first choir rehearsal of the school year! yay! say a prayer it goes well and loads of people come!)

I was surprised that there were only 12 lay people at the conference, but it made it nice so we kind of got to all know eachother, an eclectic mix of those who regularly attend the Extraordinary Form, and those who don't even have one offered anywhere near them.

I was there deliberately to become familiar with exactly how music can be incorporated into this form of the Mass, and by trying to be more acquainted with it, because we WILL be offering it at St. P in the near future!
So I was thrilled that we got to attend both a low mass in the morning, and high mass every afternoon. We had excellent lectures about the history of the Mass and other aspects pertaining to reverence and the extraordinary form and such. I think I was the only person there who was mainly interested in the music.
I was very pleased especially with the couple of Canons Regular of St. John Cantius who were there, and their experience with the Mass as well as knowledge in answering all of my many questions!
I certainly feel like I have a pretty good grasp on it, and the musical aspects, as well as now having a much greater appreciation for exactly how much effort Fr. G gets to put into learning everything!

For me, it was also interesting to talk with the brothers of St. John Cantius, as they actually sing the Liturgy of Hours, and hearing their knowledge about the different chants that are in the Liber Usualis, that I would otherwise never become acquainted with!
For example: I would never know about "O Quam Suavis Est" from first vespers, Corpus Christi...the Sanctus from Missa de Angelis is based on it! (I think.)
I had never really heard "Ecce Panis Angelorum" (from the end of Corpus Christi Sequence) either.
And then a lovely, melismatic Ave Maria from the Offertory for "Feasts of the BVM"
and "Adoremus in Aeterum," which has a neat little refrain that people actually could learn from "After the Blessing" at Benediction.

Maybe I'm way behind, and everyone else already knows these, but it was pretty sweet! and that's exactly what I'm trying to learn!