Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception - Annual Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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Y HEJH'I'IOD 'IYHGHI-ILVD 81. 'TY THE CHOIR

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THE SAINT JOHN BERCHMAN'S SOCIETY NOTHER year of important and fruitful work has ended. This society, which has representatives from every year of the College, has corn- pleted ten years of active and meritorious work. Father Kowalski, the head of this group for the past ten years. besides ably directing rl Q 4 the society in the various religious functions around the College itself, has also capably directed us in the various religious ceremonies outside the College. The requirement for membership in this society consists in one's desire to serve Mass, and to assist in whatever way possible at the different religious ceremonies. The work of every member from first year to sixth year is chiefly to serve daily Mass either at the Convent Chapel or at the school Chapel. Again the requirements for this daily, necessary work, are simple and within the power of every student. The readiness to serve Mass both on school days and holidays, and also the willingness to endure various inconveniences for this great work, are the only essential qualities. Now the rewards of this daily service are primarily spiritual. The graces and blessings received from serving daily Mass, and the inspiration to persevere along your selected course serve as ample rewards. Now the religious ceremonies outside the College, which significantly affect the members of this group. are, the Requiem Mass in November and the May Mass, which are both celebrated at the Church of Queen of All Saints, and also the ceremonies of Christmas and Holy Week, which are performed by the Bishop at St. Iarnes Pro-Cathedral. Consequently, considering the memberships and the activities of this society, it must be concluded that the Saint lohn Berchrnan's Society is one of the most important groups in the school. Furthermore it is also fitting at this time to speak further of Father Kow- alski, the director of thi.s society. At Easter time, of this year, much to our regret, he was indefinitely taken away from his work here, through illness. How- ever, the spirit of generosity and good will that he spread amongst us will continue throughout the school. l-lis advice on the use of the apparent insig- nificant things around the altars and also on the correct methods of serving Mass will not be forgotten. The present improvements in the altar equipment around the College, are indicative of his spirit. Therefore with these sentiments, we hope and pray for Father Kowalski's speedy recovery and return to Cathedral College. ' Finally, as this society completes another year of fruitful work. by most of its members, it must again be admitted that the zeal and fidelity exemplified in the past by this society, formed the basis of the fine spirit displayed this year in the carrying out of a work, close to every Prep-seminarian. WILLIAM I. PIGOTT, '42 CA'I'I-IEDRAL COLLEGE ANNUAL

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THE CHOIR greatest thing that can ennoble any function of the Church is good music. Now good Church music is such that it serves as a Q L L medium for our thoughts and feelings toward God while assisting l -1 lr l at liturgical ceremonies. Since not all music has been written for this purpose the Church has stated that only definite types of music can be sung within its bounds. These are Gregorian or Plain Chant and poly- phonic music, e.g., that of Palestrina. However, in order that one may not be emphasized more than the other in our own diocese-since both types of music are good in themselves-we of the Cathedral College Choir have been singing Gregorian music while Mon- signor Bracken's Diocesan Choristers sing polyphonic music. The cooperation that has been accorded Monsignor Brackens choir is being placed at our disposal. and we are steadily making progress towards equality with that choir, The liturgical movement in our diocese is recognizing both forms of music. lt is promoting a resuscitation of Gregorian melodies as well as poly- phonic for variety, in order to let the laity know that there is no particular emphasis on either. This year was marked by considerable advancement over last year. We sang the Mass for the feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle and Vespers for Laetare Sunday at Visitation convent in Bay Ridge. For both of our perform- ances we received warm praise from the sisters at our convent. Our coordina- tion during the psalms of Vespers was almost faultless, the mistakes only being minor ones. For this I think Father Klarmann, our director, deserves great Commendation, for I have not heard a choir in the diocese which could sing with such coordination. All of them make some glaring errors of coordination in alternately chanting the psalms. The choir also had the joy of hearing a few of its records over the radio during a program of the National Fed- eration of Catholic Alumni. More than anything else, however, it was an occasion of joy and honor for it to sing the first Mass of one of Cathedral's alumni on Trinity Sunday. Besides chanting at the usual functions of the school it was again our honor to sing the Holy Week Services in Saint lames Pro-Cathedral in connec- tion with the Diocesan Choristers. The service of Tenebrae, which is sung in the evening of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Holy Week was sung in conjunction with them. lt is important to note that this is the only occasion upon which the laity are brought into contact with the nocturnal portion of the divine office. Monsignor Bracken himself stated that our blending of tone was very good and a big improvement over last year. Besides Tenebrae the choir participated in the morning services of Holy Week. For a parting remark I would like to say that the choir has definitely made progress in the past year. lt continued to live up to its tradition of setting a faster pace. But this has been due only to the careful supervision of Father Klarmann. He alone is the promoter and guide of the choir. l hope that in the future it will continue to assume new tasks under his direction. lOl-IN I. WEISS, '42 CATI-IEDRAL COLLEGE ANNUAL