Uit de Catholic Herald:
"Gregorian Chant exists for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, by supporting the celebration of Mass. Specifically, I founded it to facilitate the celebration of Sung Masses in the Extraordinary Form in the Oxford area. In this Form there is a very clear distinction between said and sung Masses, and for the latter singers are necessary for the complex “proper” chants, those specific to the Sunday or feast. The stakes are high: if a badly played violin has been said to sound like a soul in torment, and a well-played one like the harmony of the spheres, something similar can be said about Gregorian Chant.
It is natural to ask, given the time, sweat, and money required to make beautiful sacred music, in the context of the new evangelisation: does it work? The liturgy works on us at a subtle level, one not normally visible. It was good, therefore, to read this account concerning a young woman from Miami, who attended a Mass supported by this same Schola in Oxford when she was passing through:
During her post-collegiate travels she became resolute in converting to Catholicism after attending a Missa Cantata, or sung Mass, in the parish of her favorite author, J.R.R. Tolkien, a devout Catholic who penned the “Lord of the Rings” series.
When she heard Latin hymns coming from the choir loft, Tavakoli said, it felt like “hearing angels on high.”
She was mesmerized. “It truly is extraordinary,” she said. “There is something beautiful and sacred about this form of the Mass.”
