Quigley Preparatory Seminary - La Petit Seminaire Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

Page 61 text:

EHlHlHHHl Back In 1918 Hrs Excellency Arch bishop Mundelern requested Father Phrlrp Mahoney and Abbe Bourget to organuze a boys chorr lor the Archdrocese f Chrcago to sung at the Holy Name Cathedral The boys were prcxed From the hrst and second year students at Quigley Within a lew months they sang at the Cathedral at the Cclemn Hrgh Mass under the name of the Qt George Choral Socrety For twenty sux years the boys have been slngung at the Cathedral and they have become world famous vnce a boy s soprano vouce wrll fade and drop soon after he has reached four teen years of age or often before the chorr at Quigley has to be reorganazed every year Thus means that the hard job of tramrng new boys must be carrred on eac and every year 1931 changes occured rn the char Father Edwrn Hoover alter many years of musucal trarmng In Europe became the conductor of Savnt George Choral Socrety ln the same year Monsugnor Morrrson changed the name ol the chour to the Cathedral Chorrsters It rs strll known by that very name Father Meter who succeeded Father Hoover rn 1941 has followed rn Father Hoover s footsteps by contrnurng to brmg fame to the chorr On March 7 ol thus year the chorr sang wrth orchestral ac companrment the Massa Solemnrs F Nrcola Montana In honour ol Chrcagos newly elected Cardunal who had just recently returned from Rome lncudentally the orchestratuon for thrs Mass was drawn up specrally by Nrcola Montanr hrmself For the Cathedral Chorusters Also present at the Mass were the semmarran chorrsters from Mundelern the prrests chorr and the already mentroned symphony orches tra lhrs certarnly rs vrewed as one of the greatest days nn the history ol the chorr X..

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Through the Gregonan Plarn Chant chorr to whrch every senror belongs the senror class becomes acquannted wrth the plarn unaccompanred chants whuch have been tradrtuonal In Church lrturgy smce ancrent tImes It IS our duty to srng the proper of the Hrgh Mass on Sundays and Holy Days In the Cathedral d It frttrng and proper that we who are to be the prrests of the archdrocese should srng as semmarrans In Holy Name Cathedral the frrst church of the archdrocese The drffrcultres but wrth good reason the musrc dedrcated to the pralse and worshrp of God should be as perfect and as exalted as possrble The culmrnatron of the Gregorran chorr s year of worlc comes In the servrces of Holy VVeelc To spend trme In the preparatron and Slnglng of the chants IS sometrmes a SGCTIFICS but one for whIch we wrll be rrchly rewarded both In the Mayorsemrnary and In the prresthood ln the Gregorran chant many new frelds of melody are opened up because there are erght regular and SIX extra modes of scales Instead of the two to whrch our modern melodrc system IS lrmrted The themes of the srmple chants are often extracted and around them are burlt much larger and grander works for polyphonrc chorr and even for full orchestra Our whole system of both musIcal tone and musrcal notatron sprang up In large part from the Gregorran To the srmple beauty of the notes are added the lofty Ideas expressed In the words The chorr really prays In song wrth a drfferent prayer and song for every drstrnct part of every Mass Under the leadershrp of Father Chambers the chorr has Improved Itself even further and wrll Contlnue to do so FfHHHIHN PlHIl lIHHNl IHUVH

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Hlll The orchestra under the drrectron of Father Francrs Chambers for the second year has an approxrmate membershrp of forty three students a great portIon of whom belong to the strang sectron of vIolIns vnolas cellos and bass VIOIIDS playrng wrth a well dIV9fSIfIed brass and wood wrnd sectIon composed of trumpets clarInets saxophones an oboe and flutes The Qurgley orchestra was organrzed In the year 1920 at the request of Monsrgnor Purcell then rector of Qurgley Preparatory Semrnary It was orIgInally under student drrectors One of the earlrest of these drrectors was Father Frederrclc Stenger present prefect of dIscIplIne of the Hall of Phllosophy at St Mary of the Lalce Semrnary From the orrgrnal Informal group of players the orchestra has gradually enlarged and developed Into the present symphonrc type of orchestra For the 46 concert the Qurgley orchestra rendered the stIrrIng Gladrator March by Sousa a Gypsy Overture a collectron of melodramatuc gypsy melodres compIled by Isaac operatIc selectIons from Wagner the Nlmuet from Schuberts Frfth Symphony ltslull fully presented some famrlrar selectIons from BIzet s opera Carmen and played the luvely Kmghtsbndge March by Coates The two solorsts were Stanley Rudclu who qurte beautI fully and artrstrcally presented Choprn s famous Polonarse and Paul Schwartz who played on the vIolIn Mont: s Czardas the Serenade of losellr accompanred by Stanley Rudclcr When a prrest needs a surcease from hrs busy actrve lIfe he may turn to musac as a means of enpoyment and relaxatron The pnest who has been trarned In the slullful playIng of fIne musIc and has become acquaInted wrth Its beauty and power as a form of expressron can then fully apprecrate thus Inherent cultural value Often musrcal traInIng IS a very helpful lcnowledge In the worlc of a prrest He may often be called upon to form and drrect a chorr or student orchestra In the pansh to Import to hrs group what musIcal lcnowledge he has to use whatever musrcal baclcground he may have Not only does thus musrcal traInIng benefrt the future prrest but also the present semrnarran Lrlce any school organrzatron the orchestra offers a character tramrng grves the student a chance to Improve hrs spIrIt of co operatron InItIatIve leadershrp and sacnfrce All these qualrtres are essentral In the lrfe of the future prrest 8 1 ' ' 1 1 1 1 ' ' 1 1 1 1 ' 1 1 1 I . . . II . II 1 In II . . . . 1 1 . . . I II . II . 1 - ' . . . . I II II . II . . II . . . . . . . I II . II 1 . . .I In II II II - - - 1 1 - 1 1 - 1 1 1 , . , . 1 1 ' 1 1 1 - 5