First draft of the proposed hymnal!
See this blog entry.
Typikon for 2020 is available
The Typikon for 2020 (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/2020-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.
MCI Online Class: Services for the Departed
The MCI Online class, Services for the Departed, will be offered for the first time this year, beginning on September 2. It will cover:
- Prayer for the dead in the Byzantine tradition
- The panachida, or short memorial service
- The Divine Liturgy for the departed
- The funeral service (both current and proposed forms)
- Special forms of the funeral service: funeral of a child, funeral of a priest
- The parastas, or memorial service
The class will include electronic materials for the celebration of all services, and feedback for students' singing to help ensure that they can lead the singing of these services in church.
BOTH our current funeral book, and excerpts of proposed materials prepared by our Inter-Eparchial Music Commission, will be used. Students will receive an electronic copy of the current funeral book, since that book is presently out of print.
Because of the importance of this material, we are opening this class to all cantors, even those who have not previously taken MCI Online classes. Tuition for the 8-week class is $75, which can be waived for parishes with no current cantor. To enroll, fill out and submit the registration form by September 5.
Collected Hymns to the Mother of God
Initial work on the new hymn all is just about complete, and since much of the content will consist of hymns to the Mother of God, I have decided to release these in draft form in honor of the feast of her Dormition:
New Marian Hymnal (camera-ready version)
While parishes COULD print this and use it now, I would recommend that you wait a bit for the comprehensive hymnal. But PLEASE do look over them, sing through them, and send me any questions or comments.
All the editing decisions for these hymns can be found in the discuss links on the Hymnal Project 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!
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.