UPDATE:
It seems that Larry Devich over at Angry Gnome has spilled the beans about the project to provide music for Matins and Vespers for those who use Treasury of Daily Prayer. We hope to have the recordings finished after Easter and then work on getting them edited and the masters made soon there after–hopefully by Pentecost. Keep an eye here for updates on the project.
Treasury of Daily Prayer Music
I was reading the daily office in the Treasury of Daily Prayer this morning, and lamenting the fact that I can’t read music and thus can’t chant the offices of Matins and Vespers the way they really ought to be done.
So I decided to search on Google to see if there was any mp3 or CD or what have you of the music that goes with the TDP versions of the offices. Sadly, nothing turned up.
I then tried to find a program that would allow me to input the music into my computer and generate a midi of it… heh, those do exist but most cost money and really would require me to actually understand what the heck I’m doing, which if I did would mean I could read music and thus really would not need to do it in the first place.Then I thought of searching on the Concordia Publishing House web site. Nothing there either.
So then I sent an email to a certain CPH editor there who has a blog called Cyberbretheren letting him know my desperate desire for such a product.
I wrote:
I love TDP! I would like to sing Matins, Vespers and Compline with my family but I can’t read music. I can sing though! It would be extremely helpful if you, or someone somewhere, put out a CD of the basic tunes for the Daily Office, also for the various Psalm tones. That way those of us who do not read music, and that is most of the people I know, could sing the services and that would make us even happier with TDP.
What is the chance of such a product being produced? I’d be willing to pay actual money for it O:-)He promptly wrote back to me, within minutes:
Hi Larry,
Your wish is our command [this time, at least!].
We have the Concordia Theological Seminary Kantorei recording all the services in the Treasury and we hope to be able, if all goes well, to release it this Pentecost.Woo Hoo! This will be awesome! I’m ready to order it as soon as it’s ready to be released. Since he didn’t specifically say not to I’m posting about it here. 🙂 God is good.
As this unamed editor dude said to me in another email :
“I’m fired up about this project. Can you imagine how beautiful it is going to be to hear these men chanting the daily offices? Wow. I’ll mention it all over creation as soon as I can!”
Wow indeed.
Too bad for Larry. I told him if he divulged this information he would be terminated with extreme prejudice.
: )
Oops, I better go hide in the hills, at least until after Pentecost. 🙂
I'm a big fan of TDP and I'm very glad to have a blog on the subject!
Glad you stopped by Matthew! I'll certainly be announcing when we have a music product for TDP. I am sure you will hear more about it as we move along.
The music product is going to be wonderful. I recently borrowed a stack of Kantorei CDs from my pastor. They are the perfect guys for this job!
Will the music be for Matins and Vespers only?
K.C.,
Yes, at least to begin with the music is going to be for Matins and Vespers.
ScotK