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Jesus said to them: “I have come into this world so that a sentence may fall upon it, that those who are blind should see, and those who see should become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty. It is because you protest, ‘We can see clearly,’ that you cannot be rid of your guilt.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Ascent to Freedom

Richard J. Clark · July 5, 2013

LL KINDS OF MUSICIANS, (especially church musicians) complain often of a lack of freedom. Yet it seems the greatest art pours forth from adversity. I have come to believe that true freedom does not rise from the capacity to fulfill all desires. Freedom is captivity, followed by battle, followed by faith, followed by wisdom and compassion as seen through the eyes of love. Of this struggle, true liberation is born.

PDF • Free Download — Ascent to Freedom, III. If You But Trust in God to Guide You | Wer nur den lieben Gott, Tune: George Neumark, 1621-1681

This difficult understanding about the nature of freedom is the inspiration for my five-movement organ work, “Ascent to Freedom.” (Click here to preview/order the score and listen.)

As described by the “Boston Music Intelligencier”:

“… Its five movements are quite accessible, sometimes displaying a French influence. The last three movements made imaginative use of, respectively, the Lutheran chorale If You But Trust in God to Guide You, the spiritual Go Down, Moses, and the hymn How Can I Keep From Singing. There was some compelling musical illustration in the spiritual movement when tortured chromaticism and crunchy reed chords gave way suddenly to diatonic harmonies on the solo clarinet accompanied by string celeste: the effect was like a release from bondage.”
— The Boston Music Intelligencer

(Videos are from my live performance at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Massachusetts on the 1875 E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings, Opus 801.)

Ascent to Freedom
Video 1: I. Praeludium, II. Adagio e lamentabile
Video 2: III. Tranquillo e dolce, If You But Trust in God to Guide You
Video 3: IV. Moderato e spiccato, Go Down Moses, V. Adagio e cantabile, How Can I Keep From Singing?

Quite notably, “Ascent to Freedom” received its Russian Federation première in 2012 in the cities of Kislovodsk (Кислово́дск) and Yessentuki (Ессентуки́). It was performed by virtuoso organist Mark Husey, Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Peter’s Church in Columbia, South Carolina.

From the billboard concert poster above, “Восхождение к свободе” (“Ascent to Freedom”) is the big headline at the top above the Statue of Liberty. Organist, Mark Husey’s name in large letters is recognizable. My name reads as “Р. Кларк”! (R. Clark)

For those of us who grew up during the Cold War, a performance of an American work that celebrates freedom is something of which we could not conceive.

We must continue to work diligently for this freedom through our prayer, struggle, suffering, faith, wisdom, and through compassion. We are reminded that ultimately, this freedom comes from God alone.

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Last Updated: January 13, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?
    This year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June 2025) falls on a Sunday. It’s not necessary to be an eminent Latin scholar to be horrified by examples like this, which have been in place since 1970. For the last 55 years, anyone who’s attempted to correct such errors has been threatened with legal action. It is simply unbelievable that the (mandatory) texts of the Holy Mass began being sold for a profit in the 1970s. How much longer will this gruesome situation last?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Is the USCCB trolling us?
    I realize I’m going to come across as a “Negative Nancy” … but I can’t help myself. This kind of stuff is beyond ridiculous. There are already way too many options in the MISSALE RECENS. Adding more will simply confuse the faithful even more. We seriously need to band together and start creating a “REFORM OF THE REFORM” Missale Romanum so it will be ready when the time comes.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Common” Responsorial Psalm?
    I try to avoid arguing about liturgical legislation (even with Catholic priests) because it seems like many folks hold certain views—and nothing will persuade them to believe differently. You can show them 100 church documents, but it matters not. They won’t budge. Sometimes I’m confronted by people who insist that “there’s no such thing” as a COMMON RESPONSORIAL PSALM. When that happens, I show them a copy of the official legislation in Latin. I have occasionally prevailed by means of this method.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“I, (Name), do declare that I do believe that there is not any Transubstantiation in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, or in the elements of the bread and wine, at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever.”

— ‘From England’s Anti-Catholic Oath (1673)’

Recent Posts

  • How Well Does ICEL Know Latin?
  • Nobody Cares About This! • 1887 Rheims-Cambrai Gradual included “Restored” Plainsong
  • Is the USCCB trolling us?
  • What No Musicologist Can Explain!
  • “Common” Responsorial Psalm?

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