Background
Date: March and April 2018
Klaus was to play for the Roman Catholic liturgy of Maundy Thursday and Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, the old rite in Latin and using Gregorian chant in the form customary until 1962, and later revived under the title of "the Extraordinary Form". The rites were celebrated by members of the Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri (FSSP) in the Church of St William of York in Reading. Through the kindness of the Unitas Fratrum, Klaus was then also made available for the morning mass on Easter Sunday, 1 April 2018. He therefore played in Reading on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
On 2 April 2018, he received an e-mail from Father Goddard of the FSSP:
Date: 2 April 2018
Dear Klaus,
A quick line to say thank you for your playing over the Holy Triduum.
There cannot be too many organists who have the knowledge and experience of accompanying the Latin propers of a traditional Latin Mass, but you did so with great aplomb. I have no doubt you spent a long time carefully researching the particularities of the rite, which of course in Holy Week will be more plentiful. Thank you for that extra effort - may God reward you!
If you want to use me as a referee then I would be very pleased to help.
With my prayers and best wishes,
Fr Matthew Goddard
Rev Matthew Goddard, FSSP
St John Fisher House
17 Eastern Avenue
Reading
RG1 5RU
United KingdomTel: +44 (0)118 966 5284
e: Fr Matthew Goddard
Klaus replied:
Dear Father Goddard,
Thank you for your kind words, which made me very happy.
I was equally happy to experience again the old rites which I remember so well from my now rather distant childhood. Therefore I am grateful to you and your Fraternity for working so hard that this profound tradition does not die out.
I should also, through you, express my thanks to Julian, who sent me extraordinarily detailed written instructions, on which I could base my preparations and make them foolproof, and who then answered my questions and explained some conventions to me.
I am similarly grateful to Martin and Michael, who, before each service, ran through with me the scores I had prepared to make sure everything was spot on and in the correct order, and had the correct tunes for each day.
Martin and Michael were also watching the altar, which I could not see, like eagles, while I was watching them like a hawk, and they gave me precise signals when to start each chant, and when to start and finish each of the many stretches of improvisation.
It was a great joy for me to work with them and the schola, ad majorem Dei gloriam, and I would be only too happy to play for you again when the need arises. Some period of notice will always be helpful so that I can prepare and practise properly.
I should also like to thank you for your hospitality, which enabled me to get a good night's rest rather than having to shuttle to London and back to Reading again during the night.
Last but not least are my thanks to Father Patrick, who helped me with logistics again and again.
I wish you all a blessed Easter octave.
Yours sincerely,
Klaus