Next on the Hymnal Project: Hymns to the Mother of God
We will spend the next week three weeks looking at paraliturgical hymns and spiritual songs directed o the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
Please look over the discussion articles on each hymn, and post your comments on the blog!
Invitation to Cantors: Annual Pilgrimage in Uniontown, PA
Preparations are well underway for the 85th Annual Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The Pilgrimage will take place beginning Friday, August 30, 2019 through and including Monday, September 2, 2019.
You are once again cordially invited to be a part of this special event in the life of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church in the United States.
How can you participate?
- To streamline the process for the 2019 Annual Pilgrimage, the organizers are asking Cantors interested in singing to complete the Online Cantor Participation Form located on the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh’s website.
- The form is located at: http://www.archpitt.org/85th-annual-pilgrimage-shrine-lady-perpetual-help/
- Please complete the Online Form and submit your response by Friday, July 19, 2019.
Cantor Joseph Ferenchick of Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church in Philadelphia is coordinating the scheduling of cantors, and is encouraging ALL cantors who can attend the pilgrimage to help with leading the singing at these services!
Summer School for Cantors – July 18-19, 2019 in Hillsborough, NJ
This two-day class for the cantors of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic is an intensive workshop for anyone who leads our church singing. It will cover:
- The role of the cantor today
- The “spirit” of our plain chant, and why it matters
- Essential musical knowledge for cantors
- Developing confidence: singing the first three notes
- Pitch choice and pitch matching for cantors
- The baptismal and wedding services
- Celebrating your parish feast day (patronal feast)
- The funeral service and parastas
These presentations are intended to supplement, not replace, online courses and other educational opportunities, and cover material best done in-person or in church. One topic chosen by the attendees will also be covered, and all classes will integrate liturgical and spiritual aspects of our Byzantine heritage with liturgical singing. Both new and experienced cantors are welcome to participate. (Students between the ages of 15 and 18 should have the permission of their parents and pastor.)
The two-day workshop will be held at Saint Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, 1900 Brooks Blvd., Hillsborough, NJ. The workshop will take place on Thursday and Friday, to accommodate cantors who need to return to their home parishes for services on Saturday. Classes run from 8:30 AM to 5:00, with an optional session on Thursday evening, July 18, from 7 to 9 PM.
A registration fee of $100, which may be paid at the start of the class, covers all materials, and lunch for both days. See the registration form for more information.
MCI Online Class: Services for the Living
All material for the current MCI Online advanced class, Services for the Living, is now up. Although I can only provide feedback to students who sign up the for class (it runs through May and Junel), anyone can log in to MCI Online and view the course materials as a guest:
- The Holy Mysteries and the Trebnyk
- Christian Initiation
- The Baptismal Services
- The Wedding Service
- Services of Healing
- Molebens I
- Molebens II
- Akathists
To enroll, simply request an MCI Online user ID and password (if you don't already have one) by pointing a web browser to http://mci.archpitt.org/online. Click on Log in (in the upper right), then on Create new account. Once you have your ID and password, log in to Moodle at http://mci.archpitt.org/online and click on the class you wish to view as a guest. To take a course for credit, gain access to quizzes and forums, and receive feedback on your singing, see the registration forms on the Classes page.
Clergy Book for Vespers
In the process of updating the MCI Vespers books, we determined that there was a real need for a separate book for priests and deacons, with the priest's silent prayers, and detailed rubrics and guidelines for celebration. This (unofficial) book is now available:
This book is set up for printing in two colors, on letter (not legal) size paper. If you have problems getting one printed for your own use, feel free to contact me for assistance. A similar book for Matins is in preparation, For background details, see this blog post - and leave you comments if you like!
Typikon for 2019
The Typikon for 2019 (which shows how to set up the services for each day of the year) can be ordered from the Byzantine Seminary Press:
http://www.byzantineseminarypress.com/2019-typicon/
The MCI Online program also has a free course on how to use the annual typikon to set up music and Sunday and weekday Divine Liturgies.
Registration forms for 2019 MCI Online classes
Mailing List for Cantors
We have migrated the old MCI mailing lists to single list, cantors@groups.io. This new list should be more reliable than the one we have been using, and does NOT require the creation of a Yahoo ID. It also has more options for collaboration, including a wiki and post tagging.
This list will be used for both announcements, and general (moderated) discussion. If you wish to receive email ONLY for announcements, you can set your subscription options to "Special Notices Only."
To subscribe to the list, just go to https://groups.io/g/cantors
Documenting the history of our church music - how you can help
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute is working with the Byzantine Catholic Seminary Library to put together material to document the history of the liturgical music of the Byzantine Catholic Church, both plain chant and choral music. Please consider contributing to these two efforts:
In early 2018, we will also be distributing images of particular pieces of music or other memorabilia we would like to find or identify.
What is the Metropolitan Cantor Institute?
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute exists to support and foster liturgical singing in the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh. At the direction of our bishops, and in cooperation with our clergy and experienced cantors, the Institute trains and certifies cantors for the service of the church, prepares music and educational materials, and provides workshops and seminars in church singing.
The mission of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute:
To ensure that each parish in the Byzantine Catholic Church has a cantor who can lead the liturgical singing of the parish well, to the glory of God and in support of the prayer of the faithful.
For more information, click on Cantor Institute in the left-hand navigation bar on this page.