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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” • New album from Richard Kelley & Richard J. Clark

Corpus Christi Watershed · October 13, 2022

Available on all digital formats including:

•  Apple iTunes  •  Amazon Music •  Spotify • Compact Disc

BOSTON – Defying category and convention, famed Boston trumpeter Richard Kelley and Boston Cathedral choirmaster, organist, and composer Richard J. Clark explore the depths of human frailty, struggle, and dignity in their second album “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.”

The album coincides with the print publication from WLP | GIA Publications of the title track “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made,” a four-movement meditation on Psalm 139. The album also includes one of the final compositions of iconic New England composer Daniel Pinkham: “Scenes.” Written for Richard Kelley and in the final months of his life, Pinkham explores the abyss, mourning, and transcendence.

Defying all convention the album concludes with a bonus track featuring Richard Kelley on vocals in Clark’s category bending setting of poet E. Ethelbert Miller’s “If My Blackness Turns to Fruit.” Miller’s poem was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition in 2019 (marking Walt Whitman’s bicentennial). While it has been compared to Abel Meeropol’s “Strange Fruit” made famous by Billie Holiday, “If My Blackness Turns to Fruit” offers a new challenge for America. Shortly after the NPR broadcast, Miller asked Clark to compose music for the poem. The result: a classical art song in its bones but a traditional jazz ballad in its flesh. Miller’s evocative, yet hope-filled message is passionately delivered in a new, distinctive genre.  

The recordings were digitally mastered by double-platinum-winning producer Paul Umbach.

• OFFICIAL TRAILER click here

• CD RELEASE CONCERT • SUNDAY, November 13 @2pm • Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston • Tix Eventbrite – click here

“The career of trumpeter Richard Kelley is not only a testament to the versatility of his instrument, but also to the ability of one individual to excel across the broadest possible range of music.” ~ Brian McCreath, WCRB, Director of Production.

“…Clark’s vivid sound colors and emotionally committed playing created a compelling, dramatic narrative.” ~ The Boston Musical Intelligencer

“The seasonal music (Clark) and his choir are making on this Sunday morning is something more than just nice. Stirring is one way to put it. Profound is another.” ~ The Boston Globe

Press Contact: Kara Clark | RJC Cecilia Records
Phone: 617-309-0343
Email: click here

PDF of this Press Release click here. 

Richard A. Kelley is Principal Cornet of the Brass Band of Battle Creek. He performs regularly with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Boston Philharmonic, and the Bach Beethoven Brahms Society. He currently serves as Adjunct Professor of Trumpet at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Mr. Kelley’s work can be heard on a wide variety of recordings, from national commercials to the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning soundtrack to Disney’s Pocahontas and Stephen Paulus’ Grammy-nominated Concerto for Two Trumpets and Band. Covering many styles of music, he has collaborated with many from John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma to Steven Tyler, Ray Charles and James Taylor. A passionate believer in the power of music education, Mr. Kelley taught for Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program for inner-city youth, and he continues to pass along his knowledge and love of music to younger generations in the Boston area.

Richard J. Clark is highly regarded as a composer of sacred music in particular for the Roman Rite. His choral, instrumental, and orchestral works have been performed worldwide. A highly versatile musician, his eclectic appearances range from the Celebrity Series of Boston, the Boston Philharmonic, and the Sacred Music Symposium in Los Angeles to Jive Records (Sony BMG), Fenway Park, and the New York Songwriters Circle at the historic The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. He currently serves as Archdiocesan and Cathedral Director of Music at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. He served as Director of Music at Saint Cecilia Church in Boston from 1992-2018 and as Organist since 1989. A New York native, he currently lives with his wife and four children just outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

Produced by Richard J. Clark and Richard A. Kelley
Tracks 1-10 • Recorded at Saint Cecilia Church, Boston, MA
Richard J. Clark plays the 1999 & 2001 IV/54 Smith & Gilbert Organ
Mastered by Paul Umbach @The Snug Studio, Las Vegas, NV
Tracks 7-10 Engineered by Evan Landry
Photography: Lyndie Laramore, George Martell
Track 11 • Richard Kelley, vocals, trumpet • Richard J. Clark, piano

Recorded at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, MA
COPYRIGHT © 2022 Richard J. Clark • R J C Cecilia Music • ASCAP • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: October 14, 2022

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “21 September 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 21 September 2025) discusses some theological items—supported by certain verses in ancient Catholic hymns—and ends by explaining why certain folks become delirious with jealousy when they observe feats by Monsignor Ronald Knox.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!
    It’s always amusing to see old diocesan newspapers—in huge capital letters—advertising the Cheapest Catholic Paper in the United States. The correspondent who sent this to me added: “I can think of certain composers, published by large companies in our own day, who could truthfully brag about the most tawdry compositions in the world!” I wonder what she could have meant by such a cryptic comment…
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Dom Murray Harmonies
    Along with so many others, I have deep respect for Dom Gregory Gregory Murray, who produced this clever harmonization (PDF) of “O SANCTISSIMA.” It’s always amazed me that Dom Gregory—a truly inspired composer—was so confused when it came to GREGORIAN CHANT. Throughout his life, he published contradictory statements, veering back-and-forth like a weather vane. Toward the end of his life, he declared: “I see clearly that the need for reform in liturgical music arose, not in the 18th and 19th centuries, but a thousand years earlier—in the 8th and 9th centuries, or even before that. The abuses began, not with Mozart and Haydn, but with those over-enthusiastic medieval musicians who developed the elaborate and flamboyant Gregorian Chant.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Karl Keating • “Canonization Questions”
    We were sent an internet statement (screenshot) that’s garnered significant attention, in which KARL KEATING (founder of Catholic Answers) speaks about whether canonizations are infallible. Mr. Keating seems unaware that canonizations are—in the final analysis—a theological opinion. They are not infallible, as explained in this 2014 article by a priest (with a doctorate in theology) who worked for multiple popes. Mr. Keating says: “I’m unaware of such claims arising from any quarter until several recent popes disliked by these Traditionalists were canonized, including John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Usually Paul VI receives the most opprobrium.” Mr. Keating is incorrect; e.g. Father John Vianney, several centuries ago, taught clearly that canonizations are not infallible. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen would be another example, although clearly much more recent than Saint John Vianney.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Vatican II Changed Wedding Propers?
    It’s often claimed that the wedding propers were changed after Vatican II. As a matter of fact, that is a false claim. The EDITIO VATICANA propers (Introit: Deus Israel) remained the same after Vatican II. However, a new set of propers (Introit: Ecce Deus) was provided for optional use. The same holds true for the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September: the 1943 propers (Introit: Si díligis me) were provided for optional use, but the traditional PROPRIA MISSAE (Introit: Sacerdótes Dei) were retained; they weren’t gotten rid of. The Ordo Cantus Missae (1970) makes this crystal clear, as does the Missal itself. There was an effort made in the post-conciliar years to eliminate so-called “Neo-Gregorian” chants, but (contrary to popular belief) most were retained: cf. the feast of Christ the King, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and so forth.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

It is known that the “mora vocis” is part of the compulsory rules of recital of the “Vaticana” and is indicated in the Editio typica and its reprints by a somewhat larger spacing of the neume (one space-line) within one group of neuma.

— 1953 Schwann Edition (PREFACE)

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