Most Pure Heart Schola Cantorum … in Rome!

E HAVE RETURNED from our Roman Pilgrimage and I would like to share a few highlights of the trip with everyone over the next couple of weeks. Overall, the greatest gift we received was to be in Rome during the Holy Year of Mercy—and in most of the holy sites I was able to leave the tour guide and head straight to the Blessed Sacrament Chapels to spend quiet time with the Good Lord.

Today I will share two recordings with you from Holy Mass on Sunday, January 3rd, at the Church of St. Peter in Chains. Mass was scheduled for 8 a.m., but true to Italian fashion, our tour guide got us to the church five minutes after the hour, where our pastor was told he could celebrate Mass at the side altar. I was trying to figure out where the choir would fit when we were ushered into the choir stalls in the apse surrounding the High Altar. We couldn’t see any of the Mass (thankfully we could hear it), but it was incredible to sing in under the frescoed vaults and the acoustics were amazing.

The first recording is an audio recording of Palestrina’s 4 part Alma Redemptoris Mater, which the Schola Cantorum sang during the Offertory:

The second is a video recording of Waddell’s Rosa Mystica, conducted by my assistant, John Deahl, during Holy Communion:

Editor’s Note: Thank you, Dr. Tappan, for sharing these magnificent recordings with us! And congratulations again on the tiny new baby you and your wife recently welcomed into the world!