Today's Music for Easter selection, performed by the Chancel Choir of the Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville, KY, is the magnificent concluding “Hallelujah” from Beethoven's Christ on the Mount of Olives. As the title suggests, the work as a whole is a musical dramatization of Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. While that sounds … Continue reading “Hallelujah” from Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives
Music for the Easter Season: Regina Caeli, by Gregor Aichinger
The Regina Caeli ("Queen of Heaven") is a prayer that is closely associated with Easter. We usually recite this prayer instead of the Angelus during the Easter Season, at which time it also serves as the the Marian Antiphon at the end of Compline (Night Prayer). The beautiful musical setting for the Regina Caeli below … Continue reading Music for the Easter Season: Regina Caeli, by Gregor Aichinger
Palestrina: Exultate Deo (Sacred Music for Easter)
One of my goals with this blog is to promote the incredibly rich store of Catholic art, including sacred music, that we have inherited from our forerunners in the Faith. Regarding sacred music, a few years back when I was teaching in a (more or less) Catholic school I was talking to one of the music … Continue reading Palestrina: Exultate Deo (Sacred Music for Easter)
Music for the Easter Season: Pedro Camacho’s Te Deum
I have always appreciated the way the Te Deum does so much so succinctly. In just a few lines we are reminded of the sweep of Salvation History, the Communion of Saints, the Doctrine of the Trinity, the Mission of Jesus Christ from Bethlehem to the New Jerusalem, and all in the form of a joyful song of praise to our God.
Mascagni’s Easter Hymn and The Regina Coeli (Music for Easter Monday)
This lovely piece of music is a little like the Treasure Hidden in a Field form Jesus' parable (see Matthew 13:44) . . . It's a nice reminder that grace breaks through even in the ugliest of circumstances.
A Hymn For Holy Week: O Sacred Head Surrounded
J.S. Bach's magnificent St. Matthew Passion is perhaps the most prominent musical composition that we associate with Lent. The most well-known part of the St. Matthew Passion itself is the "Passion Chorale", which often appears a hymn called "O Sacred Head Surrounded", or "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." What's not as well known is that Bach is … Continue reading A Hymn For Holy Week: O Sacred Head Surrounded
Music for Lent: J.S. Bach’s “Erbarme Dich” (from St. Matthew’s Passion)
Yesterday was the fifth Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Passiontide: the liturgical prayers and observances of the Church are building ever more urgently to the climax of the Triduum. Today's musical selection, my second-to-last Lenten music post, is from what is perhaps the greatest musical composition created for the penitential season, Johann Sebastian Bach's … Continue reading Music for Lent: J.S. Bach’s “Erbarme Dich” (from St. Matthew’s Passion)
Attende Domine: More Music for Lent
We hear the moving ancient hymn "Attende Domine" frequently during the season of Lent, especially at TLM masses. It is the cry of repentant sinners imploring God's forgiveness: Attende Domine, et miserere, quia peccavimus tibi: literally, "Take heed, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you." The Latin text dates from around the tenth … Continue reading Attende Domine: More Music for Lent
Stabat Mater (Pergolesi)
One of the greatest of Marian hymns is the Stabat Mater, written (most likely) in the 13th century. It's authorship is unknown; it has been attributed to Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) or, somewhat more plausibly, the Franciscan Jacopone di Todi (c.1230-1306), although both are doubtful. The hymn itself begins with Mary at the scene of the Crucifixion: Stabat … Continue reading Stabat Mater (Pergolesi)
“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