Originally written for the Diocesan Youth Choir formed to sing for the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, NY in 2005, This setting of Delores Dufner’s text “A Year of God’s Favor” is scored for SAB choir, piano and optional flute, oboe and violoncello. The audio below was generated by the Finale music notation program.
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:
For the CFAGO Spooktacular, I decided to write a new piece for organ. Unfortunately, I was not able to record the performance at the Chapel at the Towers, so instead I decided to attempt a recording tonight (10/31/2013) after the vigil Mass for All Saints was over at Holy Redeemer. Because the organ console is in a pit at the front of the church, I often have people come speak to me while I’m playing, and tonight was no exception (c. 3″ in tonight). I hope you enjoy the piece and can look past any bobbles I might have made from the distractions. Happy Halloween!
Composed at the request of Dr. Carl MaultsBy, Director of Music/Organist at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church in Winter Park for a service of Evensong in commemoration of C.S. Lewis at Knowles Chapel on the campus of Rollins College. The text is a paraphrase of C.S. Lewis by John Dalles. While the piece is written in an advanced tonal language dividing into SATB, most of the composition is in unison or two-part. The audio below was generated by the Finale music notation program so does not reflect the registrations indicated for the organ.
The CD is here! Order yours now for delivery before Christmas!
The Basilica Choir sings Christmas favorites and new carols on their newest CD on Stemik records including God, We Would Hear the Angels Sing.
Now available on iTunes as well.
The complete list of music follows:
Composed in October 2013 for the Sovereign Brass Union, this 3-minute fanfare is for 10-piece brass ensemble and organ it was premiered in concert at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe on November 3 at the Power and Glory of Brass Concert. The audio below was generated with the Finale music notation program.
On Sunday, September 29, a new statue of St. Michael will be dedicated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Discovering that there would be an additional procession of banners, music director Bill Picher asked if I would make a short fanfare arrangement of the tune “National Hymn’ to provide music for the extra procession. With only a few days to complete the project, I got to work as quick as I could. Until I get a live performance recording, here is the audio file generated by the Finale music notation program.
Written by request for the choral concert given on May 22, 2011 by William Picher and the Basilica Choir with friends. The choral group for the day contained 16 singers, and Bill was looking for a 16-voice piece. I sat with this request for quite a while before finally settling on this text and the general style of the piece. Most of the piece is written for 8-part choir, but the middle section is a 16-part fugue. The recording below was made at the dress rehearsal prior to the concert.
Psalm 96: 1-3
Cantate Domino canticum novum:
Cantate Domino omnis terra.
Cantate Domino, benedicite nomini eius:
Adnuntiate diem de die salutare eius.
Purchase of the PDF download includes permission to reprint copies as necessary for performance.
For many years when planning large multilingual diocesan celebrations, I felt Latin would be the best option for the Mass Ordinary. Because these special celebrations often are festive occasions where I had supplemental instrumental resources, using the traditional Latin chants always felt out of place, especially for the Gloria which follows so soon after what typically is a rousing entrance procession. Even though I love chant, the contrast between styles always seemed to make this hymn of praise more of a funeral dirge.
Finally, I took the time to write a more festive accompanied setting of the Latin text for the closing celebration of the Centennial of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Kissimmee, Florida. While I may eventually do an SATB version and instrumental parts, the piece was first performed by on June 30, 2013 in unison by the combined choirs of Holy Redeemer. There is a congregational-friendly refrain and the verses are marked for women/men/all choral groupings but could just as easily be sung by a cantor alone.
Purchase of the downloadable score grants permission to reprint as necessary for performance by the person or organization. All other rights (including further distribution) are reserved.
This recording by the Basilica Choir and William Picher includes my composition Salve Regina. The piece was written specifically for them, and I was delighted that they chose to include it on their recording.
The CD is available for sale for $15 plus shipping and handling. It is also available at iTunes for immediate download here. This is the complete track list: