Back from Hols

Our holiday in Milan/Sicily was a success. I can now claim to have sung in La Scala Milan.

We went to the Museum and were able to get into a box in the empty theatre

We went to Mass in the Duomo of Syracusa. Newly cleaned and gleaming.

I had the readings etc on my I-Pod so we could follow along. The music was provided by an organist and a lady singer with a microphone in hand. It is said that having a 'cantor' with a mike deters congregational singing and that certainly happened here. After the final blessing, the music began for Regina Caeli.
I joined in, newly confident in my chant skills. That doubled the number of people singing.

Other engagements had kept members away from the Latin Mass in Holy Spirit. Apparently we were missed.
Practices had continued while I was away, so when I joined the group they were already coming to grips with the planned Vespers for August.

We began with the Choiristers Prayer then went into the Mass planned for 25th May - Holy Mass of Ember Saturday in the Octave of Pentecost.
Here is a version of the Introit, with lecture notes and tips in Italian:

This is in Mode3 - Tantum Ergo. Alan had us emphasising the ALLeluia and watching out for the doubled notes as in Spiiritum as well as the triple effect on Sanctohohoh in the Gloria.

Stephen Langton (1150-1228) is credited with Venite Sancte Spiritus, its earliest form is to a drumbeat timing. We sang it with much more percussion than this:

While we were in Sicily, we saw the original of the Year of Faith poster image at the back of the church.

It is in the Cathedral at Cefalu. The image shows Christ Pantokrator. The two wisps of hair suggest humanity and divinity. He wears gold signifying divinity and has taken on the cloak of humanity (blue). He wears the stole as High Priest. There are many more theologically important features of these images. Our fore-fathers could 'read' such pictures.

 Click to Enlarge

Mary his mother wears blue, the colour of humanity but she has a cloak with specks of gold. 

 Here's a third-party photo showing the two together, tripods were banned so I couldn't get this shot