IN THE STUDIO
January was a whirlwind, and felt more like three months than one. There was the typical docket of sung liturgies and school presentations, however, we capped the month with an important development. Until now, our recording process was limited by the necessity of using a beautiful acoustic space. The difficulties with this are numerous: finding a quiet location with a rich ambience is not easy, especially in Phoenix, and the process of capturing the sound in such a space is an art unto itself. Last week, however, we were able to explore the possibilities of recording in a professional recording studio. In conjunction with Hallow, the #1 Catholic Meditation, Prayer & Sleep app, we recorded an album of chants for their platform. Joined by three talented female singers from our St. Anne’s choir (including Sarah, Graham’s wife), we spent three days capturing ten or so simple, but meditative chants. The results were stunning, and the vast potential of the studio manifested itself. You can expect to hear the final cuts of this session (and more) sometime in the near future on the Hallow app, however, all of our donors can expect some EXCLUSIVE EARLY CONTENT from the sessions 😎
HAVE YOU SEEN MIKHAEL?
A Video That Got Half a Million Views
Last year we interviewed some of the choristers from Giorgio’s St. Anne’s children choirs, and in our Giving Tuesday campaign posted a clip (see video above) of one of our favorite little singers, Mikhael. The post took like wildfire, amassing over 600K views and nearly 50K likes on Instagram, and it’s no wonder why. Mikhael’s magnetism, purity, and joy make the hard heart melt, and his love of singing and Gregorian chant are infectious. The comment section was full of admiration for this little cantor, with contributions from both Catholics and secular viewers alike. We’ve included some of our favorite comments below.
SPEAKING OF OUR CHORISTERS...
Enjoy this clip of them chanting the Kyrie for a nuptial Mass!
AN ABOLISHED TRADITION
ON CANDLEMAS?!
Last Friday was the Feast of the Purification, otherwise known as Candlemas, which celebrates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Giorgio’s choristers sang for the Candlemas procession and liturgy, and Graham chanted the readings. In addition to the readings, however, we included what is called a sequence. The sequence is a liturgical chant consisting of elaborate poetry set to a unique melody, traditionally sung immediately prior to the Gospel reading on certain feast days, and constitutes its own musical form or genre.
Prior to the Council of Trent, there were a great many feast days with their own unique sequences. These were abolished during the council, and the liturgy was left with only four: Victimae pashali laudes (11th century) for Easter, Veni Sancte Spiritus (12th century) for Pentecost, Lauda Sion Salvatorem (c.1264) for Corpus Christi, and Dies Irae (13th century) for All Souls and Mass for the Dead. A sequence for Christmas, however, was preserved in the Dominican rite, and is still sung by the Dominicans at Christmas, Epiphany, and Candlemas—it is called Laetabundus (Joy abounding…). With the priest’s permission, we were able to include the English version of this gorgeous chant for our Candlemas celebration.
Listen below!
WISH LIST
Thanks to your continued support, Floriani’s mission has picked up speed and continues to grow. Please consider support us in a very specific way by contributing to the following needs:
As our travels increase this coming year, we want to capture our work in a way that does justice to the personalities and mission. In order to do this, a proper camera and lens is essential!
FUJIFILM X-T30 CAMERA — $774 [found HERE]
FUJIFILM XF 18-55mm LENS — $404 [found HERE]
If you have it in your heart (and your bank account) to fund either of these items, please email us at florianisacredmusic@gmail.com
Questions? Feel free to email us anytime at florianisacredmusic@gmail.com.
We are so grateful for your support! Please keep us in your prayers!
- Giorgio, Graham, Joe, and Thomas