Your thoughts on Palestrina

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jesusmademe said:
I like more “Simple” music. I am no fan of virtouso music. Is Palestrina virtouso music?
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Well, I can sing it and I’m certainly no virtuoso. Like any good composition, it takes lots of time and hard work to do well. Our choir is talented and we have an amazing choir director, but it still takes a lot of work.

I think any decent choir with a really gifted choir director can sing Palestrina. It just takes a lot of time and practice to get right. It’s not exactly something you can just pick up and sing on a random Sunday morning.
 
So…is this irony good or bad?

🤔

Honestly, I shouldn’t have posted it because it is obvious I am in over my head…I just really enjoyed the music 😳
 
It is a nice piece of music!

The irony is that it is one of the penitential rites that is often disparaged on this forum for not being the “traditional” confiteor, when in fact, it goes w-a-y back and was brought back by the “modernist” Second Vatican Council!!! (just throwing out some popular memes around here).
 
I don’t find the words to be difficult to understand while listening to Palestrina, I find it to be very prayerful music, but this is obviously not music written for a typical congregation to sing. It is almost impossibly elegant music meant for choirs of professional singers (which would include very hard-working and exceptionally well-directed volunteers, because it isn’t about the money), such as would not usually be found except at a cathedral or basilica (and at a very important Mass, at that, these days).

Plainchant, meanwhile, can be taught to typical singers to sing on a habitual basis. I don’t mean every example ever done, but there are a range of accessible examples that are attainable by singers of typical human aptitude.
 
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So it seems that Gregorian chant is much closer to “raised speech” than opera but I am no expert.
Any ideas on how to learn Gregorian chant? It feels so natural but yet people dont sing it that much. I am not sure there to start. I can talk and sing a bit.
 
I love the description “impossibly elegant.” That really captures Palestrina, IMO. 😃
 
I can only say how I learned it, by joining a schola that was led by a monk of our abbey. He took me aside and gave me a few free lessons at the abbey, and that instilled the basics. The rest was practice, practice, practice. Eventually I got to learn the mechanics of the modes, how to psalmody, etc.

There was no YouTube back then, we had some recorded CDs to go by (mostly recordings from Solesmes).

I would suggest that you pick yourself up a Graduale Romanum or Liber Usualis. If you are planning to sing in the OF, the current Graduale is what you need; in the OF, either the pre-Conciliar Graduale or the Liber Usualis.

Then look up GradualeProject on YouTube, a good chunk of the Graduale is on there, and is very well sung. You can try to sing along with the cantor. Also Giovanni Vianini’s recordings on YouTube are also excellent.

You may also want to check out if there are any scholas/choirs in your area that may be willing to take on a newbie.
 
They Will just tell me that I should take a lot of singing lessons first. It seems that learning Gregorian chant requers that you alreafy are a very skilled Singers.
 
Nonsense. I had zero singing ability when I started and we regularly take in newbies. In some ways it’s better, as other kinds of singing will require unlearning habits not compatible with chant.

Sounds lie they’re just too lazy to deal with formation. I mean, monasteries do it all the time with novices.
 
I don’t think you have to be a very skilled singer, and I agree with Ora Labora that some singing techniques that are required for opera or high-level classical music are just not right for chant!

But you have to learn the skills that are required to sing Gregorian chant, and that’s not so hard.

There is a certain way you use your singing voice in chant–I don’t think it’s particularly difficult for an average person.

Also, you have to learn to read neumes, which many people find easier than reading notes.

And you have to be able to blend with the others, and that means working with them and practicing. If you love chant, this should be a joy, not a trial!

If you’re interested , go for it. Don’t be afraid to take a chance and try.
 
Maybe this will help:

www.ccwatershed.org

How to Read and Sing Gregorian Chant

Not everyone will agree with all the ideas, conclusions, and methods put forth below. However, it is hoped that some will find these lessons useful. As time goes on, the lessons will be expanded upon, with even more examples being included. Also, if readers notice errors and mistakes, these can be c
www.ccwatershed.org www.ccwatershed.org
 
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