Congrats to all the choristers for a wonderful Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve! I was a bit sad that we didn't get to sing everything we had planned, but that's kind of how church music works.... better to have too much music planned than not enough! Thanks for all of your hard work. I've heard a lot of good things from people in the congregation about how good the kids sounded.

Looking ahead a bit....in light of how hectic these last few weeks have been and how hard we've been working, I think it would be best for us to cancel the Mass on January 13. We would only have one rehearsal to prep an entire Mass, and I think that's just a bit too crazy at this point! Instead, we will still resume rehearsals on January 9, but we will be working toward the Mass on February 17 (First Sunday of Lent). The Liturgical year of the Church certainly keeps us busy!

Reminder: NO REHEARSALS UNTIL WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9!


Enjoy this time with your family and I hope you still sing for fun to keep those lovely voices in shape :)

Wishing you a blessed Christmas season!

 
In dulci jubilo is everywhere! This is definitely a more complex version, but it's the same text...and quite a bit slower, but still beautiful.

http://www.chantcafe.com/2012/12/pure-christmas-joy-across-centuries_21.html
 
Resonet in Laudibus & Puer Nobis Nascitur are now posted at the top of the Christmas page under "Extras"

Back row is singing Latin verses for Resonet in Laudibus, which is now posted on the website and added to the Christmas Playlist.

Puer Nobis Nascitur (Small Group Soli) has two videos. Get solid with the melody on the melody video and then practice "holding your own" against my harmony in the harmony video. Don't follow me down in pitch!! :D

Also added the files on the "Christmas Audio" page if anyone's interested...

Happy practicing and I'll see you Saturday!
 
Hello everyone! I hope you're finding time to practice on the website in these crazy pre-Christmas days! Just wanted to let you all know that the Youtube playlist is complete and in order. My only question mark is "Dormi Jesu" .... as of yet, I have not had time to teach it to them, and my gut instinct is to just focus on all of our other music, but that depends on how rehearsal goes on Saturday. Also, you may notice that there are no Mass Parts posted. For continuity's sake, we will be singing a mix of the German Mass and Mass of St. Benedict. I have not had time to record them, so they're not posted. They DO have the music in their binders (big yellow tab), so if they already know the melodies from regular masses, it would be fantastic if they can confidently sing along. However, I'm not expecting that, since we haven't had rehearsal time for it. Elizabeth, our cantor, will carry the melody as needed for the congregation. I just didn't want you to be confused seeing the different Mass Parts on the list below.

IMPORTANT MANDATORY REHEARSAL TIMES:
Saturday (THIS Saturday) December 22: 11:15am-1:00pm
Monday December 24 (Christmas Eve): Rehearsal starts at 3:15, Pageant begins at 4:00, Mass starts at 4:30


Without further ado, the music order for Christmas Eve:
(Dark red = choir solo, italics = congregation sings)

Pageant:
O Little Town of Bethlehem (2 verses)
The First Nowell (2 verses)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (2 verses)
O Come All Ye Faithful (2 verses)
Away in a Manger (2 verses)


Preservice: (depending on how long the Pageant goes...)
Christmas Chants (Annunciation, Trip to Bethlehem, Birth of Our Lord, The Shepherds)
Behold, I Bring You Good Tidings

Puer Natus (Solo group)
Hodie Christus Natus Est - Round
Resonet in Laudibus
?Dormi Jesu?


Introit: starts at 4:26pm

Mass:
Processional: Once in Royal David's City: choir solo for VERSE ONE!! :)
Kyrie: German Mass
Gloria: German Mass

Psalm: Forever Will I Sing the Goodness of the Lord
Alleluia: St. Benedict

Offertory: Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming
Offertorium (Proper)
Sanctus: German Mass
Mysterium Fidei: Benedict
Amen: Benedict
Agnus Dei: German


Communio (Proper)
O Holy Night (Beth solo)
Silent Night/Stille Nacht (3 verses English, verse 4 in German)
A Babe is Born
In Dulci Jubilo

Recessional: Joy to the World
Postlude: Organ

As you can see, this is A LOT of music!! I think we are totally capable of it though, and as long as they take the time to listen and practice at home, they will be fantastic!! :) See you Saturday!

 
Let it never be said that chant and other traditional styles of music are too complex for children: http://www.chantcafe.com/2012/12/through-eyes-of-child.html This is just one of many examples I've seen. While it would be unwise to expect young children to be able to sing advanced chants and/or polyphony, it's NEVER too early to cultivate appreciation and understanding! :)
 
Everything is up (aside from the German Mass/Mass of St. Benedict that the kids should know from Mass already...)!!! It was a lot of work, and you'll hear that my voice is sadly still more than a bit shaky from my cold, but hopefully, the videos are at least useful practice tools! Don't forget that you can download all the files for CDs/iPods for the car, etc. See you all Wednesday!
 
ALL of our choir pieces are up to download for your cds under the Christmas>Christmas Audio tab. The only things that are not there yet are the small group pieces (TBD) and the congregational mass parts for the German Mass. The files are mp4s, which should integrate well into iTunes. Let me know if you have any problems or if you need a different file type.

One thing to note is that if you're practicing and you notice the kids getting really secure singing along with THEIR part, download the other part and have them practice singing with that as well :)

Enjoy!
 
Just a heads up that I'm steadily adding to the Christmas Music practice page...I have some more pieces up, as well as slow pronunciation of the Latin (and German verse of Silent Night). I'm really hoping to get the rest of them at least recorded tonight...My voice has been overtaxed as of late due to some heavy singing in 2 choir concerts this weekend, so I'm hoping today was enough of a recovery! I hope you all take advantage of these resources at home to practice.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but whenever possible, I like to find recordings of boys/children's choirs to post as opposed to adults, as I like to show the children what is possible for kids their age! It's totally within their grasp, just means practice and dedication :) The Vienna Choir Boys are an excellent example, but it's also starting in the States too...there is a HUGE choir school now in Salt Lake City!

Also, if anyone is interested, or if it would be more convenient, I could make the audio files available to put on iPods/CDs for the car, etc. Let me know...
 
In case you hadn't already seen it, the Christmas music page is up and the corresponding Christmas playlist is started as well. You will notice that not all pieces are up yet...I need to make time to record them and also wait for my voice to heal a bit after a bad cold to get the high notes! I will get them posted as soon as I can, because practicing as much as you can at home is VERY important for this Mass. Please check back frequently to see if anything new has been added.

As I told the kids at rehearsal, we have a LOT of music for Christmas Eve as it is a longer Mass. While I can fill time with the organ as needed, I would love to be able to feature their lovely voices as much as possible, so every bit of preparation you do at home will be very valuable! I would love it if the kids could practice at least one song a day, if not all of them once a day! :)
 
Since it seems to come up every year with parents, I wanted to take a moment to address the Christmas Eve Pageant. This year, it is actually being done a bit differently. Instead of the pageant happening at the Gospel reading during mass, the pageant will actually happen BEFORE Mass, starting at 4pm, and then the Mass will begin at 4:30pm.

It is possible for choristers to do both! :) While we do need to have some singers in the choir to support the carols throughout the pageant, since those pieces aren't really solos, but more congregational, children are welcome to participate in the pageant and then quickly come upstairs to the choir loft as soon as they're done to join us for our preservice music. And hey, no one's saying that they can't sing along with WHILE they're participating in the pageant! :)

Also, just wanted to remind you all about the extra rehearsal we have on Saturday the 22nd from 11:15am-1:00pm. I'm feverishly planning and prepping music for Christmas Eve and realizing that we will have a lot of work to do as the Christmas Mass is longer and requires more music. That is a big reason why the Saturday rehearsal is mandatory--because it is big chunk of valuable rehearsal time for us to prepare everything!

Additionally, it's not required (and I will present the idea to the children on Wednesday), but if there are any small groups of 3 or more who would want to do a "solo" piece at preservice, please let me know so I can work on getting some music together! If so, we will need to have time to rehearse and I will do a final approval after rehearsal on Saturday the 22nd to determine if the ensemble is fully prepared.

I have heard from a few parents about Christmas, but I'm still waiting to hear from quite a few! Please let me know as soon as you get a chance.

Thanks!

    Who are we?

    Mary Beth Millner has been a private piano teacher for 35 years and started the children's choir in 1993 to provide a way for children to participate in the Liturgy of the Church.

    Nicole Millner grew up singing in the choir and playing flute and organ for the Mass. After completing her Master's Degree in Music Performance, she is now pursuing sacred music as her vocation, with private organ and voice studies as well as intensive study of the musical history, traditions and characteristics of the Liturgy.

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