Gregorian Chant Workshop
St John’s Catholic Cathedral Portsmouth
Edinburgh Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 3HG
Saturday 12 June 2010, 10.00 – 16.30
http://www.scholagregoriana.org
http://www.portsmouthcatholiccathedral.org.uk

Led by the Abbot of Farnborough Abbey and a Director of the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge

All are welcome, both beginners and advanced students. Led by the Abbot of Farnborough Abbey, Dom Cuthbert Brogan OSB, and a director of the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge. The workshop begins at 10am and concludes with Vespers and Benediction at 4pm. To register, contact: chantnetwork@gmail.com or Tel: 023 9286 2384

Music materials provided. Tea/Coffee available. Fee – £15

HAVPCD360 – The Dedication of the Temple
(Launched Saturday 29th May 2010 at the Temple “Schola Singing Day“)

The Temple Church, built around 1160 and consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalam in 1185, has been in the joint care of the Inner and Middle Temples, two of the four legal Inns of Court, for 400 years. It was originally built by the English Knights Templar, to replicate their round mother church on the site of Christ’s Resurrection in Jerusalem. So important was it as a place of spiritual significance that many knights were buried there ( you can see their effigies to this day ) and Thomas a Becket, when Archbishop, granted an indulgence of twenty days to all those who entered it.

The centrality of Jerusalem as the earthly replica of the heavenly kingdom comes through in the Templar liturgy that forms the basis of this recording. It is no coincidence that Jerusalem is the circular city at the centre of the mappa mundi. So to be in London’s Temple Church was, to the mediaeval mind, to be in the actual place for one’s own spiritual enlightenment helped no doubt by the uplifting qualities of singing the daily office, which Bernard of Clairvaux probably helped to compile. The Church retains its special atmosphere to this day and the Chant sounds wonderful in its ancient, round, acoustic – pure, perfect and complete.

Today the Temple Church serves its legal community in many ways. Members of the two Inns may be baptized, married and have their memorial services there. It is justly famous for its own choir of boys and mens voices who sing a high Anglican liturgy every Sunday during the legal terms. Inner Temple calls its students to the Bar there. The organ, the gift of a generous Scottish family, is a four manual Harrison&Harrison from whose loft many recitals are given. It was a popular tourist attraction even before Dan Brown put it on the Da Vinci trail.

The Church has also become a respected venue for the discussion of controversial issues, most notably the compatibility of sharia law with our own secular society. The Templar’s worthy adversaries in the second crusade would probably have approved.

The Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge is presenting a Gregorian Chant singing day in the glorious surroundings of the Temple Church in London. It is open to beginners and more experienced singers alike. The music will include chants for the Templars’ own breviary recalling their Foundation of this Church in 1185 and the day will finish with all participants singing Vespers. There will also be an organ recital, a talk on the Templars and an optional Schola dinner in the historic Inner Temple Hall.

The day will be conducted by Jeremy White and Philip Duffy, both expert teachers of the Chant. £35 for the day with an optional dinner for £50. £25 for students. Free parking.

For booking and more information:
The Temple Church – 020 7797 8206
The Temple Church “Schola Gregoriana Concert” Poster (Acrobat PDF)
http://www.scholagregoriana.org
http://www.templechurch.com