The morning will begin with a talk by Toby Huitson who has worked in the Archives and has reconstructed whole pieces of music from mediaeval fragments. He will describe the music fragments he used and discuss their origin and history leading to their discovery as well as the process of reconstructing the music and text. After the talk, we will have a go at singing through one of the antiphons that Toby has reconstructed. The morning will end with refreshments and a chance to look round some interesting items on display. Staff from the Archives will be present to discuss the items and give any information about the collections and resources of the Cathedral Library and Archives.

£8 for CGMS members, £12 non-members: for further details or to book a place email us at contact@gregoriansociety.org.

Please note: parking within the cathedral grounds is not available except for pre-booked disabled badge holders.

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Tim (our Chair) tells us that ‘101′ is how colleges in America denote a course that covers the absolute basics of a subject. A direct English translation would be ‘everything you ever wanted to know about chant but were afraid to ask’! A number of you have mentioned that you would welcome just such a session on Chant so we thought that it would be an excellent idea to organise one in time for our workshop in November.

This event will last for two hours on the morning of Saturday 18th October and will be led by Helen. The session will start at the very beginning and will answer questions such as ‘why are all the notes square?’, ‘how do I know which note to sing?’ and ‘What’s that squiggly thing?’ We will also practice some simple Gregorian ‘classics’ so that by the end of the two hours anyone attending will be able to confidently tackle psalms or a quick Salve Regina with ease.

Time and venue will be confirmed within the next few weeks.

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The weather was not at its best, but our visit to the Benedictine Community at Minster Priory was a most engaging and enjoyable afternoon. Thirty of us plus the sisters from the Community and a few of their guests rehearsed and sang the second Vespers of the day. Being a Sunday there were four psalms to rehearse, plus all the other bits concluding with the solemn Salve Regina.

At the suggestion of Mother Nicola, the Prioress, we divided into two groups so that those less confident could go over ‘the basics’ in more detail with our very own Helen Nattrass. At the same time, Mother Nicola and Sister Mary Stephen made sure that the ‘more-confident’ group tackled the Magnificat and the solemn Salve. Between the two rehearsals, we had a good break with afternoon tea, chatting to the nuns who joined us. Mother Nicola also led a tour of the Priory buildings recounting the history of the establishment.

Overall it was a great afternoon and a wonderful opportunity to be part of the Community’s worship. Mother Nicola and all the sisters were as delighted to have us as we were to be there so, who knows, it may become an annual fixture!

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