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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

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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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
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

Random Quote

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.

— ‘His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)’

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