AV俱乐部

Here鈥檚 something you don鈥檛 see at every conference: group singalongs of centuries-old Gregorian chants, first thing in the morning.

This week, AV俱乐部 is hosting the yearly gathering of the Gregorian Institute of Canada, bringing together over 40 scholars, students and practitioners, exploring the history and tradition of religious chant music.

In addition to seminars and lectures, there will be many opportunities for song and performance all weekend long鈥攅ven before breakfast!鈥攚ith the highlight being a full choir show, open to the public, on Friday evening at St. Mary鈥檚 Basilica.

鈥淐hant is the oldest representation of Western music that we have notated,鈥� explains Jennifer Bain, AV俱乐部 musicology professor and the conference鈥檚 organizer. 鈥淭hat means it鈥檚 the oldest music we have that we can discuss in detail.

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also from a time period when everything was in manuscript. No two books are alike, which gives us so much historical information about people, places and the times in which they were written.鈥�

The inspiration for the conference鈥檚 theme鈥�"Chant: Old and New"鈥攊s the Salzinnes Antiphonal, a 16th century book written in what is now Belgium by an abbey of nuns. Though many similar documents from that era were printed by press, the Antiphonal was crafted by hand, in the model of classical manuscripts. It contains the chants that would have been used during the cycle of daily prayers, but also, uniquely, depictions of 34 nuns who worked at the abbey, providing a window into religious life at the time.

The book first came to Halifax first through Bishop William Walsh, who served as Archbishop for the Archiocese of Halifax in the mid-19th century. It came into the possession of the Patrick Power Library at Saint Mary鈥檚 in the 1970s, and is presently undergoing scientific and technical analysis at the Canadian Conversation Institute in Ottawa.

鈥淚n most chant studies, people have been interested in finding the earlier books,鈥� says Dr. Bain. 鈥淏ut this lets us explore later chant. How did this tradition evolve and change, even when it was an old practice?鈥�

Friday鈥檚 concert will feature the Chapel Choir of the University of King鈥檚 College, directed by Paul Halley, performing selections from the Salzinnes Antiphonal. The choir will also sing pieces by Hildegard of Bingen. The concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets ($25, $15 for students) are available in advance from Veritas Catholic Books and Gifts on Barrington Street and from the Department of Music at AV俱乐部, or at the door. More details are available .