Making Chant More Widely Known: A Zoom presentation by Brandon Wild

Chant enthusiasts will have an unusual opportunity to learn about the ways in which the beauty of the chant tradition can be made known to a wider audience, during a Zoom presentation on Saturday, March 23, at 7 PM. The presentation, by Brandon Wild, is entitled “Making Chant More Widely Known.”

Brandon Wild is a music researcher, a board member of the Gregorian Institute of Canada (GIC) and the editor of the GIC’s annual newsletter, Cantemus. He holds a Bachelor of Music Honours (Music Cognition), Summa cum laude, from McMaster University. Two of his previous presentations were “The Use of York and the Feast of Saint Cecilia” (GIC Colloquium, 2018) and “A performance of A York Feast of Saint Cecilia,” which he co-presented with William Renwick (53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, 2018).

Brandon also sings with the Hamilton Schola Cantorum (HSC). Founded in 2008, the HSC is a non-denominational choir of men and women dedicated to the performance of Gregorian chant and other traditional sacred music in concert and in liturgy. Over the years, the group has sung Vespers, Tenebrae, Evensong and Mass in the Extraordinary Form at various churches in southern Ontario, both Anglican and Roman Catholic.

The GIC supports and publishes research regarding the whole range of Gregorian and other Western chant repertoire, monastic and secular, including issues of performance practice, notation, and resources for research and performance. Brandon’s presentation on March 23 will focus particularly on the efforts of both the GIC and the HSC to promote chant in both the academy and the wider community.

Brandon has a particular interest in the Use of York, or York Rite, and has a book forthcoming about the topic, focusing on the hour of Compline, and will be using examples from that book in his talk. “Use” denotes the special liturgical customs which prevailed in a particular diocese or group of dioceses during medieval times. The Use of York was one of the medieval English “uses,” together with the Use of Sarum (developed at Salisbury Cathedral), the Use of Hereford, and the Use of Bangor.
While the music of those different rites lies firmly within the Franco-Roman traditions of the west and belongs to the Gregorian tradition, there are numerous stylistic details that distinguish it from modern chant sung according to “the Solesmes method.”

Those interested in viewing the March 23 presentation need to register by contacting Harold Rennie, at rennie.ns@gmail.com. A Zoom link will be sent to all attendees in advance. There is no charge for this event, which is organized by the Early Music Society of Nova Scotia.