A daily chore for parish priests is opening assorted envelopes that arrive in the post each day, taking one look at the contents, and throwing them and the envelope in the bin. I have one of those big square "stack 'n store" boxes next to the desk since they can take more reams of paper before you have to empty it. To be honest, I look forward to the postal strikes.Occasionally there is an item worth at least reading. The other day a flyer arrived for a new CD "Alma Mater. Music from the Vatican". To be honest, years spent in Rome meant that the promise of "Music from the Vatican" didn't really get me rushing for my credit card - but it did say that it featured the voice of the Holy Father and this gave me pause for thought. Not a long pause: after a few seconds, I decided that it might well be just a bit of exploitation of the Holy Father to sell a mediocre CD.
My snap judgement is confirmed by Damian Thompson who has listened to the CD and did not like it. That is an understatement: his review is very entertaining. The overall verdict:
The Catholic Church may have abolished the Inquisition, but it still knows the meaning of torture.See: How dare they subject Pope Benedict to this musical atrocity?.
11 comments:
Thank you for this Post, Fr. One wonders why the Vatican (Sistine Chapel Choir) don't bring back divine polyphonic music in their Masses, preferably in Latin. They did once (Palestrina). He was rather good !!! In addition, I noted that there were three sets of brothers (among the ten Altar Servers present) on the Sanctuary, this morning, for Mass. Is this a record, one asks oneself ? And, thank God for good Catholic families who encourage and foster such devotion.
Would that there were an Inquisition - be a nice job for me, Grand Inquisitor!
A friend's son (aged 12) has told him that he doesn't want to be an altar server any more because his classmates (in a Catholic school) make fun of him. What are we coming to?
That is very sad - but unfortunately peer pressure against the faith in Catholic schools is a real problem nowadays.
Can Hobbits be Grand Inquisitors ?
Dear Fr Tim.
Further to my last Post. . .
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009
Roman Polyphony Returns to Saint Peter's
BY GREGOR KOLLMORGEN Sandro Magister today has this article at www.chiesa:
Great Roman Polyphony Returns to Saint Peter's
Not in a concert, but in a Mass. It will be conducted by Domenico Bartolucci, the most brilliant interpreter of Palestrina's music alive today. He was removed as head of the Sistine Chapel choir twelve years ago, but now, with Pope Benedict, has finally been rehabilitated
My apologies, Fr Tim. I omitted to credit the NLM for my previous Post, today,(reference Roman polyphony returns to St. Peter's). The NLM article was by Daniel Kollmorgen and dated Monday, 16 November 2009.
Zephyrinus might like to look at Sandro Magister's blog which can be found at http://chiesa.espresso.republica.it/?eng=y
He posts that the Holy Father has re-appointed Domenico Bartolucci to the post of director of the Sistine Chapel Choir after a ten year spell in the wilderness. Signor Bartolucci is the finest exponent of Palestrina in Italy, we are told.
JARay
Apologies for writing "signor" Bertolucci. I should have given him his title of "Mgr" Bertolucci.
JARay
In my day (the 60s) being an altar boy (as we were called then) carried a lot of prestige. In addition, every year we went on a summer outing and at Christmas were taken to the circus and carnival. In those less affluent days such treats were a rarity. However, they more than made up for having to get up on a winter's morning to serve 7.00am Mass.
Dear Father Tim
Perhaps it helps if you know next to nothing about Latin and Classical music :-)
The first live UK performance of the new album Alma Mater – featuring the voice of Pope Benedict XVI took place on Wednesday 2 December at Westminster Cathedral.
The Chamber Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome (the Vatican's choir) made their UK debut, and were joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, composers Simon Boswell, Stefano Mainetti and Nour Eddine, and singer Yasemin Sannino. The only performer not present was the Holy Father himself. Instead, his voice was heard via recordings.
The first part of the concert featured Gregorian chant sung by the choir, conducted by Monsignor Pablo Colino, Emeritus Chapel Master for St. Peter's Basilica. In the second part, six of the new CD's eight tracks were performed. Simon Boswell and Stefano Mainetti took turns to conduct the combined forces of choir and orchestra.
The works combine Gregorian chant, contemporary music from the Western art music tradition, and Middle-Eastern music. Stefano Mainetti and Simon Boswell's backgrounds in film music composition come through in the lush string textures and repetition of motives. This sound is contrasted with sparse exchanges between different sections of the choir and orchestra and the Pope.
Regina Coeli, composed and conducted by Stefano Mainetti, features the voice of Istanbul-born Yasemin Sannino alongside that of the Pope, who first chants in French and later sings. The introduction of Arab elements in Sannino's line in this work paved the way perfectly for the following piece, Advocata nostra. This is Moroccan-born musician Nour Eddine's contribution to the album, and he played the Arab string instrument, the Oud in the performance. The Middle-Eastern drums tabla and deff underpin the music with energetic Arab rhythms. These Arab sections are alternated with sections of Gregorian-style chant and the Pope's voice over a solo cello.
The performance was quite a spectacle, with mood lighting on the stage, candles around the altar, and screens on each side, displaying pictures of the Pope during the sections in which he chanted. One welcome addition would have been the Pope's words in English on the screen, for those of us who don't speak all the four languages he used!
Sir Rocco Forte, leading hotelier, and his wife Lady Aliai attended the concert. Friends of Monsignor Pablo Colino from Rome, Sir Rocco told Classic FM that they enjoyed the blend of contemporary music and Gregorian chant. His favourite piece was the last, Magistra Nostra by Simon Boswell, for its 'melting' of the elements.
Classic FM also spoke to Simon Boswell, Stefano Mainetti and Yasemin Sannino after the concert. They all enjoyed the experience of performing the project live in the wonderful acoustic of Westminster Cathedral. It was the first time that all those involved had come together to perform, since the different forces were put together in the studio for the recording. Do they have plans to perform Alma Mater elsewhere, perhaps in the Middle East? All agreed that this would be exciting and they have received many invitations. It will take some time to work out the logistics of putting on further concerts, due to the large number of people involved.
Tickets to the Westminster Cathedral concert were free and allocated on a first come, first served basis, and through competitions. Released on 30 November, Alma Mater has been eagerly awaited as the first album to feature Pope Benedict's voice.
The concert was recorded by Classic FM and will be broadcast on the Full Works Concert on Tuesday 8 December from 9pm.
I listened to Classic FM last night, I loved the Pope's voice and I enjoyed the music too.
PAPA RATZI ORA PRO NOBIS!
Our Lady of the Rosary pray for us!
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