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It is not clear where people live, but certainly here in London UK, I am considering whether it would be worthwhile setting up a small Group to learn to chant the Monastic Diurnal / Monastic Diurnal Noted, now that both of these are back in print.

At home, following popular experience in church, I currently use Briggs and Frere and derivatives (which generally seem to go down well for congregational use) daily. Merbecke is not difficult to find, and although some regard him as too modern, Cranmer's specification to him was of course to adapt the chants from the Golden Age of English Plainsong (roughly 8th- 10th centuries) to the English language with one note (maximum) per syllable. Chanting is not actually too difficult, but comes with practice, and greatly encouraged by St. Augustine.

It is sad that although many Religious Communities use chant daily, this is rarely published, although the Austrian Cistercians at Heiligenkreuz outside Vienna have recently published an Office Psalter with chant.

There are of course organisations promoting plainchant, and I think one which might provide training here in London, provided there were some serious demand (one person is not deemed sufficient). If you are interested, please let me know.

Dear RMA1982,

If you are finding the St. Dunstan's Psalter difficult (and it is not easy to get used to), I would seriously recommend using Briggs and Frere Manual of Plainsong. Choose an old version - 1902 or the older Helmore Manual of Plainsong from the mid 19th century (around 1880), which have one note per syllable, and are much easier for beginners and (as we use in church) for promoting congregational singing. They are usually available cheaply second-hand on the internet (try amazon.co.uk not amazon.com when I looked price was ca £10) and in many of the better theological libraries. Avoid the grossly overpriced copies and the modern editions (ca 1950) which have very abbreviated music. A friend might fax you relevant pages if required too: they are both out of copyright.

William