Wednesday, September 7, 2011

What a wonderful surprise!

Beginning November 27, 2011, the first Sunday of Advent, the Church in Canada (and the United States of America) will begin using the Revised Roman Missal for the celebration of Mass.

In preparation for this date, priests and parishioners need to learn new Mass settings (including the musical settings) that will be used.  In Canada, many dioceses have decided to use the musical settings written by Father Geoffrey Angeles (2008).

Tonight, the first of a series of workshops was held to teach the music for these settings to choir members, directors, musicians and to parishioners in the Sudbury area (which includes areas as far west as Walford Station and as far east as Coniston).  Organizers of this first session were expecting about 50 participants to be present.  Instead, there were more than 150!


Within two hours, these participants had begun to sing the parts of the Mass (some of them in various muscial parts as well).

While CD-ROM copies of the printed music are available for purchase, MP3 copies of the music are also available so that people who know where to find them can also begin to learn the music.  Permission has been granted by the Canadian Conferece of Catholic Bishops' Liturgy Office to begin using these Mass settings now, in an attempt to allow people in our pews to become familiar with the settings before the beginning of the Advent period.

Various resources are also available to help people learn more about why this change is necessary, and being implemented now.  In the coming weeks, stay tuned for more information about the revised Roman Missal and its implementation.

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