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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Mozart’s Sacred Music

Fr. David Friel · November 1, 2012

AM BLESSED to live in Philadelphia, a bountiful land of history, culture, and the arts. In season, there are multiple choices every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to enrich the weekend with fine music or other performances. My last post was about a concert I attended, and this post will be about another. This time, it was a concert by Vox Ama Deus, a distinguished group of vocal and instrumental performers who specialize in the Baroque & Classical music of the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries. More than a quarter-century since its founding, the Renaissance ensemble continues under the direction of its vivacious founder, Romanian-born Maestro Valentin Radu.

This concert featured four works by Mozart:

1. Vesperae solennes de confessore (K. 339)
2. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C (K. 467)
3. Overture to The Magic Flute (K. 620)
4. Mass in C (“Coronation”) (K. 317)

By all accounts, it was a splendid concert. The performance was also as thought provoking as it was delightful. The thought that was provoked in my mind was this: why do I have to go to the Kimmel Center to hear sacred music?

I was struck by the irony of the situation: a Catholic priest (accompanied by two other priest friends) going to hear Vespers and the Ordinary of the Mass sung in a concert hall. These two masterworks are among the most famous and beloved of Mozart’s sacred compositions. So why is it that they must live only in concert settings? These marvelous compositions have a native habitat, and it is not the Kimmel Center.

The list of donors in the program shows that the group is patronized heavily by businesses, doctors, and lawyers, along with quite a number of Jewish lovers of the arts (judging by last names). If there is such support for sacred music extra ecclesiam, why must so many Catholics languish with rotten music in their parishes?

I am grateful for Renaissance groups like Vox Ama Deus. Would that they might inspire a new Renaissance in Catholic parochial life!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    26 January 2023 • FEEDBACK
    “Jeff, I wanted to personally thank you for your spiritual witness at the Symposium & often blogs that you write too. Praying that prayer in the mornings My God, my Father and my all (by Cardinal Merry Del Val), mentioning saints’ stories of Brébeuf, Jogues, John Vianney, monks who fought in WWII, their hard work in spite of terrible conditions, their relentless zeal for the faith, their genuine love for the laypeople they served, etc. Overall though—more than anything concrete I can point to that you did or said—it was your demeanor at the Symposium. I could tell you really absolutely love and believe the Catholic Faith. You don’t get that everywhere, even in Church circles. And your humility is what then makes that shine even brighter. It is super inspiring! God is working through you probably way more than you know.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Indeed I might add that although unfamiliar with it myself, the Extraordinary Form expressly reminds us that Mass in either form is not merely a communion meal but a ritual of love, a sacrifice at Calvary, by which, for you and for me, yes, here and now, Jesus Christ lays down his life.

— ‘Most Rev. Philip Egan, Bishop of Portsmouth’

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