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Views from the Choir Loft

Frank La Rocca • Contemporary Music for the Sacred Treasury

Richard J. Clark · August 28, 2015

SACRED BANQUET! The Eucharist gives us food for a difficult journey. Appropriately, the Mass is our greatest prayer. It is in a way, a rehearsal for our life in heaven. The chant Ave Verum describes Jesus’ body as “a foretaste (of heaven) in the trial of death.” The Mass is nothing less than this. But we are human and we fall short. Faith and reliance upon God must bridge our failings.

As such, music for the Sacred Liturgy must trend toward the transcendent—holy, beautiful, and universal. What it is not called to do is to please anyone other than God. This is a very tall order. Once again, our frail humanity is a frequent obstacle to such ideals. Again, we must rely upon God and the gift of the sacrament of Himself–the Eucharist.

But there are many gems that area beautiful, sacred, and universal. It is our sacred treasury of music, given highest value by Vatican II: “The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art…”(Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, §112.) Occasionally, there are gems added to this sacred treasury.

F YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR with the works of composer Frank La Rocca, you should be. His transcendent setting of O Sacrum Convivum is rooted in traditional polyphony, yet is thoroughly modern at every turn. The harmony is modal yet often very accessible to the contemporary modern ear. At other times, the harmonic language is defiant of traditional harmony in the vein of progressive works of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries.

Through it all La Rocca achieves symmetry and wholeness and therefore holiness. It depicts the eternal Eucharist, while simultaneously addressing and calming the anxieties, evils, and depression of modern life. He paints the text beautifully, ultimately filling a besieged world with the hope promised by the Sacred Banquet.

A work such as this moves contemporary sacred music towards the realization of Vatican II. It represents an ideal not because of style or preference but because of transcendence and significance. Anchored in tradition, it speaks with the authority of the ages yet with the innovation of modernity. Imbued with the Spirit, it is timeless.

O Sacrum Convivium
text: St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

O sacred banquet!
in which Christ is received,
the memory of his Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory to us is given.

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 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

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.”

— Vatican II Council

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