I'm happy to report from St. Augustine, Florida that my schola's vespers on August 14th went very, very well. We had a packed house with folks listening from outside. Of course, if you know the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, you'll snicker since the seating is 35. People were delighted to have a part in the vespers – the opening, the chanting of the psalms, the intercessions and the Our Father (all in English). The Shrine's director was also pleased to see that it was prayer and not a concert. All the feedback we got from people was positive – and the ages ranged from 14 to 80. Particularly popular was the Greek hymn to the Virgin, O Virgin Pure. We sang this after the blessing because I wanted something from the Eastern Church. This is a long hymn (which we did sing in English, not Greek) and while we were singing, I fretted that it was boring, especially since they were standing. Well, they loved it. There's nothing like an ison.
I can't express strongly enough my gratitude to the schola for their hard work – and to all the people who came and prayed with us. This is the oldest Marian shrine in the United States, dating back to the 17th century. We had fair skies and a lovely breeze going through the open windows to offset the heat thrown off by the 100-odd votive candles in the back of the chapel.
We'll be back at 6 p.m. on September 8th for a Vespers in honor of the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the date on which St. Augustine was founded in 1565. To learn more about the St. Augustine Schola Cantorae, take a minute to visit our website. When I get organized, there will be some sound clips from the vespers. Just give me a bit of time to sort them out.
Congrats Mary Jane and schola! We're looking forward to having you all down here for the chant conference. But why wait until then? Practice up on the EF Vespers for Immaculate Conception and come down and join us at St. Patrick's in Palm Beach Gardens. We'd love to have you along!
Posted by: Michael O'Connor | August 17, 2008 at 01:24 AM
How wonderful to have Vespers in that little Chapel. I look forward to hearing your schola sing there.
Posted by: Lynn | August 17, 2008 at 07:33 PM