Workshop in Stevens Point, WI

A brief sketch of my Chant Workshop in Stevens Point, WI:

I was invited to do a Chant Workshop at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Steven's Point, WI which is in the diocese of La Crosse - of course, this is Archishop Burke's former diocese, before he moved on to St. Louis and then the Vatican. [He was born and raised in the area and, in fact, the pastor of the parish, Fr. Louis, is a nephew. (I could see the family resemblance.)] Although the current bishop is good by all accounts, part of Archbishop Burke's legacy is that the diocese still requires ANY public speaker at a parish - at least one that is publicized widely through diocesan channels - to have the mandatum. I don't have the piece of paper, because Bishop Loverde considers our public oath to the magisterium in front of him to substitute for the mandatum. I had to explain that, so I was told to have a letter from my pastor assuring them that I was a "Catholic in good standing." Fr. Fasano was glad to provide this.

The workshop started on Friday (10/17) at 1 PM, so I had to take a 6 AM flight out of Dulles Airport, which meant I had to leave my apartment that day at about 3:30 AM. Anyway, I arrived on time and was picked up at the Wausau airport by Patrick Burkhardt, the music director at St. Peter's, and dropped off at the Bed and Breakfast where I was lodged for the weekend (more about this later). Then he picked me up for a quick lunch with two of his teenage sidekicks, Alex and Eric - an interesting pair.

I began with my standard talk on how to read Gregorian chant notation, following to some degree the summary in the back of the "Parish Book of Chant," of which everyone received a copy. Later I took them through the Ordinary from Chant Mass IV, Gloria XV, several Propers and some polyphony - the Byrd Ave Verum and Non Nobis Domine. With breaks and time off for dinner, we went until 8 PM. We all were tired.

On Saturday, we worked from 9 AM until 3 :30 PM - again with a few breaks and time off for lunch. I also gave my talk on "Gregorian Chant: the Splendor of Forms" - which always seems to be a winner. It was a typical workshop concatenation of voices - bad breath support, poor intonation and blend, no sense of a unified vowel sound. But I worked with them and they got better, it was heartening, although it wore me out - I did earn my fee. We sang for the 4 PM Saturday Vigil Mass.

Later that evening, Patrick Burkhardt played a recital which was quite good. The parish has a 30 stop, 3 manual , 1930 M.P. Moeller. It was voiced with an English Romantic sound. He had been the organist/choir director at St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha and was quite the suberb organist. He closed the recital with Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor which he played with real technical accuracy and panache. Not an easy piece to play.

Had dinner with Patrick and the pastor, Fr. Louis twice. I always enjoy this. They are trying to move things in a better direction. They are good hearted "reform-of-the reformers" and I wish them much success, but they have their work cut out for them. Just like in Lincoln, NE, although the bishop is orthodox and there is an overall solidity to most of the clergy, the state of the liturgy and music in the parishes sometimes leaves much to be desired. And many of the people are quite content with things the way they are.

There were several Christendom connections. I met a cousin of Prof. Snyder's wife, the godchildren of Prof. Townsend (or was it his wife?), anyway they wanted me to give him a package. Finally Fr. Louis worked with Fr. William at the Josephinum and said, "he is a real card once you get him going." (Fr. William will DEFINITELY be coming to my Nov. 1 party, so I promise you I will "get him going.")

Finally, the bed and breakfast. It was neat and clean - even had a tub with a whirlpool, which I didn't find as enjoyable as I thought I might. The place had a nostalgic theme, but wasn't unified. There were 1920's artifacts (old radio, etc.) and artwork from the 1880's - 1890's - rather Victorian looking. Overall, however, my room had the look and feel of the bedroom of a teenage girl who was into country arts and crafts. Lot's of old-fashioned dolls in gingham dresses, a pillow with the word "love" stitched onto it (and flowers growing out of each letter) and a bed spread with lacey sides hanging down. I am sure some of my readers will get a kick out of me having to spend the night in such a room - the only thing funnier would be imagining Texas Schola Dawg having to spend the night in such a room.

Well, I'm glad I was able to be of some help to the people of the Diocese of LaCrosse and wish them all of the best. And Christendom Choirs - I do appreciate you more after experiences like this!