With the surprise announcement of Pope Benedict XVI’s retirement this month, this Friday’s Choral Mass will take on a special significance. While I hope everyone was planning on attending to hear the fabulous music (including some new compositions), in this time of transition, I hope more people will attend to give thanks for the leadership Pope Benedict XVI has provided and that a worthy successor may be found for the Chair of Peter.
I am thankful for the opportunities that I had to sing and compose music for the Papal visit to New York City. It was a very memorable occasion that, even though stressful at times, is something I’d be happy to do again for the new pope.
Tag: Pope
Papal Alleluias
Dr. Jennifer Pascual asked me to make the orchestral arrangements of the Alleluias for the Papal Masses in New York city in 2008. The Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral would use the Alleluia refrain from O Filii et Filiae. The Mass at Yankee Stadium used the refrain from VICTORY. Even though the melodic material was given, I knew I would have great players in the orchestra and a top-notch choir, so I had great fun making these arrangements.
CatholicTV still has the Mass from St. Patrick’s available here and the Mass at Yankee Stadium here. At Yankee Stadium, the Alleluia starts at 100 minutes into (about half-way through) the coverage on CatholicTV.
I wasn’t sure any of the broadcast video would still be up, so I went looking on YouTube first and found this excerpt which includes my arrangement of the Alleluia before the gospel is proclaimed: