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Views from the Choir Loft

Mass in Honor of Pope Saint John Paul II

Richard J. Clark · April 27, 2014

VER SINCE MY WIFE was expecting our third child, I began composing this mass setting in thanksgiving to God for my son, Sean Paul to whom it is dedicated. While composed in a chant style, each melody is reminiscent of a simple lullaby. (The Agnus Dei is perhaps the best example.) Like chant, when one sings a lullaby, one often doesn’t focus on meter and timing. The words and melody flow naturally and are fully devoted to the child. Likewise, chant is fully devoted to God flowing in much the same way. As such, this mass can even be sung effectively in three ways:

1 • Unison without accompaniment

2 • Cantor/Unison Schola and Organ

3 • SATB and Organ

• The voice-leading is designed to be simple; the accompaniment is well-suited for an organ of humble means.

• Using the 2010 English translation of The Roman Missal, Third Edition, it is published with the approval for liturgical use by the Committee on Divine Worship, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

DOWNLOAD Complete Score (2.3 MG):
PDF • Mass in Honor of Pope Saint John Paul II (for SATB, Schola, Organ)

DOWNLOAD Unison/Organist Edition:
PDF • Mass in Honor of Pope Saint John Paul II (for Schola, Organ)

• Recordings by the St. Cecilia Choir, Boston, MA, with the 1999 Smith & Gilbert Organ:

      YouTube:  Penitential Act C | Kyrie
      YouTube:  Gloria
      YouTube:  Sanctus
      YouTube:  Memorial Acclamation A
      YouTube:  Memorial Acclamation B
      YouTube:  Memorial Acclamation C
      YouTube:  Doxology, Amen
      YouTube:  Agnus Dei

• LISTEN and FREE DOWNLOADS of 24 bit audio here

AM ABSOLUTELY NOTHING without my wonderful volunteers and colleagues who are generous, talented, and devoted to prayer. Many thanks to Mark Donohoe, Allesandra Cionco, Jaime Korkos, Emily Lau, Michael Olbash, Peter Tetrault, Ryan Lynch, Doug McNicol, Benjamin Mead, Robert Gregory, Gillian Lynn Cotter, Ghinwa Choueiter, Heather Young, Joseph Houley, Mark Brown, Rachel Edelman, Robert Boland, Kathleen Boland, Libby Boland, Cynthia Wanner, William Brown, Chuck Olivieri, Matthew Gallup, Anna Maria Licameli, Rose Sun, Michelle Ong, Patricia Almond, Rebecca Wettemann, Patricia Driscoll, Perpetua Charles, and Timothy Edward Smith.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: congregational singing, Pope Saint John Paul II, Singing the Mass Last Updated: January 1, 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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Quick Thoughts

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Pope Francis breaks Catholic traditions whenever he wants because he is free from disordered attachments. Our Church has indeed entered a new phase: with the advent of this first Jesuit pope, it is openly ruled by an individual rather than by the authority of Scripture alone or even its own dictates of tradition plus Scripture.”

— Fr. Thomas Rosica (31 July 2018)

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