Tag Archives: Orlando

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Louis Vierne meets The Munsters

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!

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To Love Is to Be Breakable

To Love Is To Be CoverComposed 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.

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Basilica Choir Christmas CD

BasilicaChristmasCDSquareThe 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:

  1. Joy to the World (Isaac Watts/Lowell Mason, after Handel, arr. William Picher)
  2. Hodie Christus Natus Est (Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina)
  3. Joseph Lieber, Joseph Mine (Michael Praetorius)
  4. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (Edmund Sears/R.S. Willis, arr. William Picher)
  5. Blessed Be That Maid Marie (Trad. English 17th C., arr. Charles Wood)
  6. Rejoice in the Lord Always (Anon 16th C.)
  7. Gaudete (Anon. 16th c, arr. Brian Kay)
  8. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen (Trad. English, 17th C., arr. William Picher)
  9. O Magnum Mysterium (Tomas Luis de Victoria)
  10. Ave Maris Stella (Trad. Russian, arr. Pavel Chesnokov, adapt. William Picher)
    Morris Hudson, guest baritone soloist
  11. Ding Dong Merrily on High (G.R. Woodward, arr. Carolyn Jennings)
  12. Es ist ein Ros (Michael Praetorius)
  13. God, We Would Hear the Angels Sing (John A. Dalles/Wm. Glenn Osborne)
  14. What Child is This (Trad. English, arr. John Stainer)
  15. The Boar
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Fanfare on ‘National Hymn’

BNSMQU Michael FaceOn 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.

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A Cappella Magic

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:

  1. Haec Dies (William Byrd)
  2. O Bone Jesu (Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina)
  3. Verbum Caro Factus Est (Hans Leo Hassler)
  4. Alma Redemptoris Mater (Palestrina)
  5. Regina Caeli Laetare (Antonio Lotti)
  6. Riu, Riu, Chiu (Anon. Spanish)
  7. Exsultate Deo (Palestrina)
  8. I See His Blood Upon the Rose (Michael Bedford)
  9. At the Cross Her Station Keeping (13th cent., arr. Richard Proulx)
  10. Were You There? (Spiritual, arr. Harry T. Burleigh)
  11. Gabriel’s Message (Basque Carol, arr. Jonathan Rathbone)
  12. Ave Maria (Marshall Webb)
  13. Set Me As a Seal (René Clausen)
  14. Tota Pulchra Es (Maurice Duruflé)
  15. Hail Mary (William Picher)
  16. Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina, arr. Derric Johnson)
  17. I Saw Three Ships (English Carol, arr. Marshall Webb)
  18. Salve Regina
  19. Deep River (Spiritual, arr. Norman Luboff)
  20. Ain’t-a that Good News (Spiritual, arr. William Dawson)
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Salvator Mundi

One of the difficulties in using a historical musical setting of the Latin Mass in the Novus Ordo is the lack of Memorial Acclamation and Amen. With only two syllables, it’s usually pretty easy to do some text replacement and derive an Amen from material in other movements. It may even be possible to simply use the amen found at the end of the Gloria or Credo as a stand alone Eucharistic acclamation. The Memorial Acclamation, regardless of the text option chosen, proves a much tougher challenge.

For the Choral Mass on February 22, 2013, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, Dr. William Picher gave me the task of creating something for him to use alongside Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli. While I initially wrote something for the SATTBB voicing that Palestrina uses, I forgot that this was to be a Latin Mass and set the English response “Save Us, Savior of the World.” Mea culpa. As six contrapuntal voices seemed a bit of a stretch for me in the limited time I had to prepare the piece, when I started over again with the equivalent Latin text, I opted for the more traditional (and perhaps more useful) SATB voicing.

I hope to have a recording of live singers performing the piece after February 22. In the meantime, the music notation program Finale has provided this rendering:

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Salvator mundi, salva nos, qui per crucem et resurrectionem tuam liberasti nos.
Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world.

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Dilexisti justitiam

You prize justice and abhor wickedness,
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
With the oil of gladness, above your peers.

Dilexisti justitiam is the Introit for the Chrism Mass where the Sacred Oils are blessed every year during Holy Week. After experiencing the extremely lengthy entrance procession during my first Chrism Mass here in Orlando, I decided to write an extended musical setting of the introit that would lead easily into the hymn Lift High the Cross.

Scored for double choir, the composition may be performed with brass quartet playing the second choir. Hear a recording generated by Finale below.

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