It's hard to overstate how much beautiful, excellent music has been created over the centuries, and how much of it is rarely heard by the vast majority of people. Last week I published a clip of a "Kyrie" composed by Johann Baptist Wanhal. Wanhal was an important and influential composer of the late 18th and early 19th … Continue reading “Gloria” from Johann Baptist Wanhal’s Missa Solemnis
Music Monday: “Kyrie” From Wanhal’s Missa Pastoralis
One of the wonderful things about having a centuries-deep treasury of sacred music is that there's always more to discover. I was listening to a classical radio station the other day when I was in the car with one of my sons, when a beautiful but unfamiliar composition was playing. "There's a lot going on in … Continue reading Music Monday: “Kyrie” From Wanhal’s Missa Pastoralis
Rossini-Agnus Dei (Petite Messe Solennelle)
Giaochino Rossini Giaochino Rossini was, in his time, considered the most successful composer of operas in history, creating such enduring favorites as The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola, and William Tell. Then, having composed an astounding 39 operas before his 37th birthday in 1829, he simply stopped. For the rest of his life, until his … Continue reading Rossini-Agnus Dei (Petite Messe Solennelle)
Music Monday- ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ by Ola Gjeilo
My Monday Music selections are usually compositions from the treasury of Catholic sacred music, some of them centuries old. There are still some composers even today, however, who are composing music worthy of that tradition. A couple months ago I posted a setting to the "Te Deum" by Pedro Camacho. The words to the hymn … Continue reading Music Monday- ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ by Ola Gjeilo
Monteverdi’s ‘Nisi Dominus’: Arrows in the Hand of a Warrior
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was probably the most important composer in the transition from Renaissance Polyphony to Baroque. This beautiful piece from his Vespers composition, Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610), is a musical setting for Psalm 127 (sometimes listed as Psalm 126). This particular psalm (printed in full below the music video) has always resonated with me. … Continue reading Monteverdi’s ‘Nisi Dominus’: Arrows in the Hand of a Warrior
“Gloria” from Salieri’s Mass in B Flat
The truth is that, while Salieri was no Mozart, he was a good and well-respected composer in his time, and a much sought-after teacher (among his pupils were Mozart's own son Franz Xaver, as well as Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, and Ludwig Von Beethoven). The lovely piece below is the "Gloria" from Salieri's Mass in B Flat, one of his four Masses.
Sacred Music: The Pentecost Sequence (Gregorian Chant)
Today, in the traditional liturgical calendar, would be Monday in the Octave of Pentecost. Although the Octave of Pentecost has not been observed in the Ordinary Form of the Mass since 1969 (for more on this liturgical change, with feeling, see HERE and HERE on Fr. Z's blog), it would be a shame to let so … Continue reading Sacred Music: The Pentecost Sequence (Gregorian Chant)
Palestrina’s “Veni Creator Spiritus” and Maíno’s “The Pentecost” from San Pedro Mártir
We are now in the last week of the Easter Season. Christ has ascended to Heaven, and we are awaiting the coming the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In anticipation of that ancient feast, often called the Birthday of the Church, our Music Monday selection is Palestrina's "Veni Creator Spiritus." The Latin Hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" itself dates … Continue reading Palestrina’s “Veni Creator Spiritus” and Maíno’s “The Pentecost” from San Pedro Mártir
“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by J.S. Bach
I absolutely love J.S. Bach's Joy-filled celebration of Jesus Christ's love for humanity, "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring". Ash Wednesday is just two days away, so this is my last opportunity to get it in as a Music Monday selection before Lent. Bach composed this piece in 1723 as a part of his cantata Herz und … Continue reading “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” by J.S. Bach
Ave Verum Corpus (William Byrd Composer)
The Verum Corpus, "True Body", refers to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Byrd published the composition in 1605. The hymn is beatifully sung . . .