It never stops...

The last week has been absolute murder for me in the choir, and this is one reason I have not produced any posts! Immediately after the great Newman mass on All Saints, we had to do the six part Victoria Requiem on All Souls: but all was not finished! The following days we had two Missa Cantata Requiems with Gregorian chant propers for the 5.45pm mass, one for the deceased fathers and the other for the deceased benefactors of the Oratory. As ever, I'm expected to turn up to help out with the chant...


As well as that , I have had to produce special booklets for vespers of the Lateran Dedication tomorrow, and have them ready for our organist. Such are the joys of the Oratory choir and being choir librarian to boot. For those who have asked, the music before the introit at the great mass was Elgar's Ecce Sacerdos Magnus, a setting traditionally done at the beginning of a pontifical mass, an old favourite of ours.

Tonight we are having a concert given by Ex Cathedra the music of James MacMillan. Hopefully this shall give me a bit of a rest.

Blogging resumed: All Saint's day

Well, after a very hectic month I feel up to restarting blogging again, which I had to stop due to various factors. Hopefully I will try to keep it up, but I do not guarantee daily posts.

Tomorrow in the Birmingham Oratory we are having a special All Saints mass for the translation of the relics of our Cardinal Newman, which will be celebrated by Archbishop Vincent Nicholls, attended by Princess Michael of Kent and broadcast live on EWTN. This is the culmination of a vigil since Friday when the relics of the Cardinal went on display, and we had have three sung pontifical English by bishops William Kenney and Philip Pargeter, as well as Cormac Cardinal Murphy O'Connor.

Mass celebrated by Cardinal Cormac

For us in the choir it will be very hectic as we are singing without a break from 8.30am to 1.00pm without a break! We are doing Mozart's Coronation Mass, Stamford's Beati Quorum, Justorum Animae both by Lassus and Byrd, Byrd's Gaudemus Omnes, as well as much else beside. Hopefully EWTN will repeat this, and so you will get a feel for the Oratory liturgy.