Tallahassee Vespers: At a Crossroads

Our latest Sung Sunday Vespers was indicative of the progress which we have made. The mistakes were few and far between. Everyone sang the hymn very well together. There were only a few mistakes in the psalmody. The execution of the Salve Regina at the end of the prayer was quite good.

We are now at a point where our Sunday Vespers needs to grow. The problem will be determining how best to go about doing this. So far, we have grown by word-of-mouth and by posting events on Facebook on both our "Tallahassee Liturgy of the Hours/Divine Office" page, and on the "Una Voce Tallahassee: Latin Mass Community" page. The real growth will occur once we reach out to the bulletins of the several parishes in the area (there are four in the city of Tallahassee, plus a chapel for Florida A&M).

Once we advertise in the bulletin, however, we will need to have the resources for participation for the people who come. We could either try to do a big event for which we have rehearsals (for instance, on Christ the King), with handouts for participation, perhaps trying to link Vespers with Adoration. Alternatively, we can advertise in one of the four bulletins, seeking to draw people in from a single parish.

Currently, my inclination is to do the latter. Advertising within our own parish for people who are willing to sing the parts should draw out some of the more committed who will join weekly. Once we have a good idea of how many are willing to do this, we can advertise in the other parishes. Finally, we can create a more major event, during which I would expect a larger group to attend.

Such are my plans at present. I will seek the input of my cohorts. We know that we need to grow. The question is how we do it.

Vespers in Tallahassee: Week 5 Report

We met yesterday for our fifth sung Sunday Vespers. The singing is really starting to come together. Most of the dragging while chanting the psalms has ceased. The execution of the Salve Regina after Vespers was near perfect. We learned the setting in the Mundelein Psalter for the English version of the Lucis Creator Optime, and executed it very well. There were both fewer mistakes and greater cohesion.

It is nice to see that our group has grown together. The next step is likely our growing outward. We may take some time before advertising in the bulletins of the four parishes in Tallahassee for new members. Even so, the time is growing shorter 'til we will do so.

I should also note that the rector of the C0-Cathedral informed me of his support of our efforts. I invited him to join us for the evening, but he already had an appointment. Nevertheless, he mentioned that we especially ought to bring into our number those in the community considering the priesthood or religious life (as the Co-Cathedral is right outside Florida State University, there are many college students considering their vocations within the parish). I think this is a great idea, and hope to make efforts in that regard very soon.

I would ask for your prayers for the success of this group. While it might not be possible to have a sung Sunday Vespers everywhere, I certainly believe that every city ought to be able to have at least one (preferably at the Cathedral or Co-Cathedral). We are doing what we can to allow this movement to grow here in Tallahassee. Please support us with your prayers, and consider doing the same in your own community.

Seasonal Hymns in the Mundelein Psalter

I've mentioned before how much I like the Mundelein Psalter for providing English versions of the Latin hymns of the Liturgy of the Hours. I, for one, think it's wonderful to sing hymns by St. Ambrose or St. Gregory the Great during Sunday Vespers.

Unfortunately, the seasonal hymns are not laid out in an easy-to-read setting. By this, I mean that the notes are provided at the top of the page, rather than above the corresponding verses. This makes it rather difficult to follow. (There is an additional problem with the Vespers hymn of Easter missing a note, thus having only seven notes for an eight beat line of text, but that's another story)

I arranged an easier-to-read setting of Conditor Alme Siderum for our little Tallahassee group. I did not see this to be prohibited by the book itself, especially as we are not selling the material. Thus, we ought to be able to prepare easier for the transition from Ordinary Time into Advent. To set the chants, I used the font StaffClefPitchesEasy, which I find to be incredibly easy to use (round note chant notation).

This way, I think we will be able to continue using the Mundelein Psalter primarily, while supplementing it with other material when appropriate.

First Tallahassee Sung Vespers a Success!

I am pleased to report that our first attempt at a sung (mostly chanted) Sunday Vespers was quite successful. First, we did a walk-through of the Order of the Hour of Vespers. Then we went through the relevant sections of the book. Thereafter, we began to practice singing the psalm tones (with the aid of the recordings provided by the webpage). Finally, we prayed the hour of Vespers, singing the psalms and cancticles with their antiphons, hymn, opening verse, Lord's Prayer, Collect, and conclusion.

The psalmody was sung according to the settings provided in the Mundelein Psalter. We did not learn the setting provided for the hymn this week (we hope to do this when the hymn repeats in Week III). Rather, we sang it to the tune of "Old Hundreth," which everyone knew. The responsory was also sung according to the setting provided.

In total, the whole event took about an hour. That was all! I would like to reiterate how easy it can be to get a group together using this book to sing the prayers of the Hours. After someone with even moderate musical ability has mastered this book at home, s/he can easily gather a group at the parish to form a schola or choir.

In the coming weeks, we will be refining our sound. Certainly, there were mistakes. Nevertheless, our group took it in stride much better than I had anticipated. Perhaps it was the movement of the Holy Spirit. Or maybe they all just learn more quickly than I do. Maybe it was that inherent Catholic quality, where none of us know how to sing, but all of us know how to harmonize. Whatever it was, the sound at times was, in my opinion, glorious.

These are the first baby steps. A few weeks from now, we hope to invite our clergy to take part with us. Thereafter, we hope that we may prepare for leading the parish (and perhaps the wider Tallahassee community) in this prayer. I certainly think that it would be great if we could lead our community in Vespers during a larger period of Eucharistic Adoration (perhaps on the Solemnity of Christ the King?). However, we must remember: one thing at a time. I am certain that we will be successful in the end, and God will be glorified by our little choir, then our parish, and even our Tallahassee community, joining in this evening sacrifice of praise.

Sunday Sung Vespers in Tallahassee

I am happy to report on a local experiment to have a sung Vespers in Tallahassee. Probably a good chunk of the people who would be drawn to this blog will be familiar with the following text from the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:

Pastors of souls shall see to it that the chief Hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and the more solemn feasts. And the laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually (SC 100).

Just before this statement, the Constitution reads: "It is, moreover, fitting that the office, both in choir and in common, be sung when possible (SC 99).

As such, a small group of laity in Tallahassee, FL are seeking to institute a Sung Sunday Vespers at 5:00 on Sundays. At the beginning, we will use the Mundelein Psalter, because it is easy to use and easy to learn. Also, it is fully in keeping with the approved ICEL text of the Roman Rite Ordinary Form Liturgy of the Hours, while providing the actual Latin hymns (along with English translations) from the Latin edition.

It is interesting to see on a number of blogs that many believe that we are "rolling back" the reforms of Vatican II. Many of us seeing the implementation of the Council finally coming. If we were to implement a Sung Vespers, think of the opportunities:

• A setting of worship much more suitable for ecumenical gatherings than the Mass (as we can see from the example of John Paul II and Benedict XVI every Jan. 25 for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul)
• A way to more fully encourage the sanctification of the day, wherein the community has the opportunity to gather for worship in the Morning Mass, but the evening Sacrifice of Praise.
• A greater familiarity with the Psalter, our truly divinely inspired prayer book (and, for that matter hymnal). As we rarely hear the propers sung or recited during the liturgy through an accident of history, an embrace of Sunday Vespers can be all the more crucial in implementing a greater call for familiarity with Scripture.

These are just a few of the ideas that could come to mind. Our first meeting, to learn to sing the hours, is scheduled for this Sunday, September 19th. I ask for your prayers in this endeavor, and hope that our actions here may encourage others to act in a similar fashion.