Saturday, June 01, 2019

Choir Camp at Philadelphia Cathedral, July 8-10

The Cathedral Basilica of Ss Peter and Paul in Philadelphia will hold its second annual Cantate Domino Summer Choir Camp, from July 8-10. This camp is open to all boys and girls throughout the Archdiocese, ages 7-15, and includes an introduction to sacred repertoire, vocal breathing techniques, vowel formation, choral tone, sight singing and music theory. The camp curriculum officially starts each day at 9am and ends at 2pm, and conclude with a concert at 7 pm on Wednesday, July 10. Last year, 52 choristers from all over the Archdiocese came together to sing, worship and learn; after two full days of musical instruction and prayer, the camp culminated in sung Evening Prayer at the Cathedral.

See the cathedral website for information about registration and tuition: http://cathedralphila.org/music/choirs-at-the-cathedral-basilica/

More recent articles:


“The Angel Cried Out” - The Byzantine Easter Hymn to the Virgin Mary
In the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, there are several places where the priest sings a part of the anaphora out loud, and the choir makes a response, while he continues the anaphora silently. In the liturgy of St John Chrysostom, which is by far the more commonly used of the two anaphoras, the priest commemorates the Saints after the consecration and ...

The Lavabo
Lost in Translation #124 After the incensation, the priest goes to the Epistle side and washes his hands, reciting Psalm 25, 6-12: Lavábo inter innocentes manus meas: et circúmdabo altáre tuum, Dómine.Ut audiam vocem laudis: et enarrem universa mirabilia tua.Dómine, dilexi decórem domus tuae: et locum habitatiónis gloriae tuae.Ne perdas cum impii...

Spinello Aretino’s Altar of Ss Philip and James
At the very end of the 14th century, the painter Spinello di Luca Spinelli (1350 ca. - 1410 ca.), usually known as Spinello Aretino (from Arezzo) was commissioned to make a frescoed altarpiece for the Dominican church of his native city. The altar itself no longer exists; it was dedicated to the Apostles Philip and James, whose feast is traditional...

A Medieval Hymn for Eastertide
Many medieval breviaries, including those of the Sarum Use, the Cistercians, Carmelites and Premonstratensians, have a hymn for the Easter season which is not found in the Roman Breviary, Chorus novae Jerusalem by St Fulbert, bishop of Chartres, who died in 1029. The original version of the Latin text, and the English translation of John Maso...

Two Upcoming Events from the Durandus Institute
Our friend James Griffin of The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music wishes all our readers a joyous Easter season, by presenting two opportunities, at least for those in southeast Pennsylvania, to celebrate.First, this coming Sunday at 5pm, there will be a solemn Vespers in the traditional Latin rite for the Second Sunday after Easter a...

Letter to a Maximalist Music Director in a Minimalist World
Auguste Danse, Study of Three Singers (detail)The following is based on a real letter.Dear Friend,I’m sorry to hear that you’re experiencing some “ups and downs” with regard to the liturgy there, though it’s hardly surprising in a way. Your diocese is not well known for liturgical propriety or taste, and, beyond that, priests mostly have control ov...

The Tomb of St Peter Martyr in Milan’s Portinari Chapel
Here are some great photos from our Ambrosian correspondent Nicola de’ Grandi of the Portinari Chapel at the Basilica of St Eustorgio in Milan. They were taken during a special night-time opening made possible by a new lighting system; as one might well imagine, the Italians are extraordinarily good at this sort of thing, and more and more museum...

Recommended Art History and Artistic Practice Text Books for Homeschoolers... and Everyone Else Too!
I want to recommend the Catholic Heritage Currricula texts books to all who are looking for materials for courses in art history, art theory and artistic practice at the middle-school or high-school level. These books present a curriculum that combines art history, art theory, and a theory of culture in a Catholic way. Furthermore, they provide the...

Launching “Theological Classics”: Newman on the Virgin Mary, St Vincent on Novelty & Heresy, Guardini on Sacred Signs
At a time of turmoil, nothing could be better or more important than rooting ourselves more deeply in the Catholic tradition. One of my favorite quotations is by St. Prosper of Aquitaine (390-455), writing in his own age of chaos: “Even if the wounds of this shattered world enmesh you, and the sea in turmoil bears you along in but one surviving shi...

Low Sunday 2025
With his inquisitive right hand, Thomas searched out Thy life-bestowing side, O Christ God; for when Thou didst enter while the doors were shut, he cried out to Thee with the rest of the Apostles: Thou art my Lord and my God. (The Kontakion of St Thomas Sunday at Matins in the Byzantine Rite.)Who preserved the disciple’s hand unburnt when he drew n...

For more articles, see the NLM archives: