• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Pastorally Imperative: They are all we have.

Richard J. Clark · May 26, 2017

ARDINAL SEÁN P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap. recently ordained eight men to the Priesthood on Saturday, May 20, 2017, at Immaculate Conception Church in Lowell, Massachusetts. (The Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston is currently under renovation.)

Please pray for these new priests! Fr. Jason Rinaldo Giombetti, Fr. Pablo Gomis, Fr. Kevin Paul Leaver, Fr. Godfrey Musabe, Fr. Wellington Oliveira, Fr. Joel Americo Santos, Fr. William Paro Joseph Sexton, and Fr. Michael Louis Zimmerman

FFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY to direct the music for this ordination, I hoped to emphasize to the choir the following:

What we do is not simply “important” music for an “important” Mass. This is a day that these eight men will carry in their hearts for the rest of their lives. Not only what we sing, but how we sing will have spiritual impact beyond a nice memory. It will help shape their formation.

Music itself won’t solve any problems or persuade any newly ordained priest to adjust their liturgical inclinations. That’s not the point.

But music sung in prayer and with joy hopefully permeates their hearts and minds. It can reach the hearts of their family and friends who will support and accompany them throughout their lives. To sing in prayer and with joy is pastorally imperative for they are all we have.

ERHAPS OF INTEREST, you can watch a video of the Ordination in the Archdiocese of Boston here. We are deeply grateful to Evan Landry for this recording.

Recording for broadcast is always tricky, especially capturing the true blend of a choir in the room. Mr. Landry did an exceptional job (with omnidirectional microphones) capturing a fairly representative blend of the choir while contending with specific restrictions in space.

Music of note:

• 4:15 • INTROIT • Sacerdotes Dei, benedicite, Mode VI • (Marc Demille intones verses) I chose to have men and women sing in unison for a brighter sound, to create a more energetic pronouncement. This was followed by the hymn This Is the Feast of Victory by Hillert.

• 20:45 • Kyrie and Gloria from the Mass of the Angels (Allesandra Cionco-Dahlberg, soprano)

• 28:30 • Psalm 23 • Jeffrey Ostrowski (Jaime Korkos, psalmist)

• 34:15 • Gospel Procession, Alleluia, Theodore Marier

• 36:24 • The Gospel is beautifully chanted by Rev. Mr. Joseph J. Sanderson

• 1:07:56 • Litany of the Saints (Marc DeMille Cantor)

• 1:16:30 • Holy Spirit, Come and Shine Chant, arr. Leo Abbott (Tom Manguem, cantor) and improvisation • repeated at 1:27:25

• 1:44:00 • Christ the Lord, a Priest Forever, RJC, Ps. 100

• 1:52:00 • You are My Friends, RJC • Jn. 15:14, Ps. 100

• 2:27: 40 • Agnus Dei XVI, Byrd/Agnus Dei XVIII

• 2:30:13 • Sicut Cervus Palestrina

• 2:33:28 • Adordo Te devote

• 2:53:45 • THAXTED, O God Beyond All Praising, arr. Richard Proulx

• 2:59:45 • Processional, Mathias • Dr. Janet Hunt, FAGO, organ

Photos by George Martell • Archdiocese of Boston

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Archdiocese of Boston, Ordination Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Let us ponder the incontrovertible fact that Eucharistic Adoration in the Ordinary Form (“Novus Ordo”) is always and everywhere celebrated “ad orientem.” Why, then, is there such opposition to Mass being celebrated in that way, which is actually stipulated by the 1970 Missal rubrics?

— A Benedictine Monk (2013)

Recent Posts

  • Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
  • PDF Download • Belgian Book of Gregorian Accompaniments (Official Edition)
  • Don’t You Agree About These?
  • Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
  • Crucial Tip For Choir Directors

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.