Yankee anywhere?

At first it looks like an ordinary baseball game: spectators carrying chili dog lunches and soda, clutching tickets, lining up for merchandise.

And then you see the rosaries – and the tee-shirts. You see the nuns passing one another saying, “Bless you, sister,” and laypeople emerging into the stadium with Benedict XVI on their baseball caps.

There is a decidedly celebratory and jovial feeling in the stadium despite the inconveniences of crowds and the long bathroom lines. The stands are just about half full of people from all races, ages and backgrounds. Soon everyone will get the chance to pray together – a strong statement in a world that can be so divided.

Organist Stephen Tharp has been playing prelude music for hours now. He’ll soon be relieved by the likes of the West Point Cadet Catholic Choir and Harry Connick Jr. during the Concert of Hope.

Also, some very good news – the sun has just appeared!

Posted: 04.20.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Greetings from Yankee Stadium!

It’s cold here with a slight chance of rain, and everyone is hoping it’ll hold off until after the Mass ends. The archdiocese is distributing goody bags at the door complete with plastic ponchos, so there’s no chance of a rain-out.

The stadium is broadcasting the Pope’s visit to Ground Zero on a large  screen. The pope is kneeling in prayer at the site of the World Trade Center bombings in downtown Manhattan.

I’ve never before seen a Pope wear what he is wearing: a suitcoat with lapels at the top and an alb at the bottom.

Posted: 04.20.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Quirks that happen at big events

I ate breakfast at four in the morning, and after singing at this morning’s mass directly boarded a bus for Yankee Stadium, where the combined choirs are putting the final touches on tomorrow's big event.

Lunch was supposed to meet us at practice, but due to a snafu didn’t arrive until around 3:30.

It was almost as good as Beethoven’s ninth symphony, which will be played and sung tomorrow.

Yum, on both counts.


Posted: 04.19.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

200 voices

This is what a 200–voice choir looks like: quite massive. It sounds 
even larger. I can’t wait until the whole stadium fills up in song 
tomorrow – now, that–s going to be something to hear.



After rehearsing the opening hymn, some of the basses whispered in 
appreciation, and one yelled “Play ball!”

Posted: 04.19.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Making progress

I thought this morning’s processional hymn might be especially  meaningful for priests, religious and laypeople alike after the  struggles and scandals plaguing the American church of the past few  years and Pope Benedict’s emphasis on these events during his visit.  Its last hopeful verse, sung by the religious in attendance, made me  personally hopeful that all Catholics will soon learn from where we’ve  been and develop a greater trust in God and responsibility for the  future.

“Then hear, O gracious savior, Accept the love we bring, That we who know your favor may serve you as our King;

And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we will triumph  through our sorrows and rise to bless you still; To marvel at beauty and glory in your ways, and make a joyful duty our  sacrifice of praise.”

Posted: 04.19.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

The Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

The Mass is just packed with fine music sung by this fine choir, 
including classical and Gregorian-chant Mass parts. Of particular 
notice is the Gloria by Josef Rheinberger, and Deborah JaminiIt’s 
rendition of “O God Beyond All Praising,” my personal favorite hymn.



It’s almost time!

At left, the men of the St. Patrick’s choir rehearse a prelude before this 
morning’s Mass.



Posted: 04.19.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

“Frozen zone”

When we entered the Palace Hotel this morning for security checks, the 
place was already packed with people hoping to get a spot outside the 
steps of St. Patrick’s. The blocks outside the Cathedral are what is 
known as a “frozen zone,” with no-one allowed in without the proper 
credentials.

At right, Mass attendees walk across 49th Ave around 6 a.m. to get to the Palace Hotel, the ingress point for the morning Mass.

Posted: 04.19.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Christians united

The low rumble of the motorcade – and the loud cheers of people lined up on the stairs outside – heralded Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival at St. Joseph’s Church in Yorkville. During the 35-minute ceremony, the pope welcomed 250 leaders from dozens of Christian denominations, clasping the hands of dignitaries such as Rev. William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, and Bernice King, the youngest daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

As the pope watched, the combined choir from St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Joseph’s Church performed a difficult Bach motet, “Praise the Lord, All Ye Nations,” in his native German.

Pope Benedict once again asserted his familiar stand against moral relativism, and emphasized the need for the ecumenical movement to cultivate a strong faith and trust in God. “(Paul’s) words instill in us the confidence that the Lord will never abandon us in our quest for unity,” said the pope. “Like the early Christians, we have a responsibility to give transparent witness to the reasons for our hope, so that the eyes of all men and women of goodwill may be opened to see that God has shown us his face and granted us access to his divine life through Jesus Christ.”

He hoped the prayer service would “exemplify the centrality of prayer in the ecumenical movement, for without it, ecumenical structures, institutions and programs would be deprived of their heart and soul.”

After the pope departed, the church was opened to the general public, and some of the visitors took pictures standing next to Benedict’s signature white chair before it was hurried out by church staff and presumably taken to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for tomorrow morning’s mass for priest and religious. Quite a few people attending this mass are going to get up before the sun, as everyone is expected to be in place inside the Cathedral before 7:45.

Posted: 04.18.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

 From the choir loft

This is the view from the choir loft at St. Joseph’s. It is a small,  intimate church, so everyone is going to be in close proximity to the  pope. The guests, primarily representatives from other denominations,  began arriving at 3. Two hours of prelude music will be played before  Pope Benedict arrives at six. Honorary ushers are wearing tuxedos and white  gloves.

Posted: 04.18.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Hurry up and wait

The anticipation is building! At one o’clock, the choir catches a bus to Yorkville, where we’re singing for tonight’s ecumenical service in a church known for its German heritage. We need that much time to go through security, which is extremely tight. Access to the event is by bus only, which means that members of tonight’s choir from St. Joseph’s in Yorkville had to leave their neighborhood and take the official bus back to the church.

The ability to wait – and to cultivate patience – seems to be the name of the game for everyone hoping to get a peep at the pope.

Music for tonight includes Palestrina’s “Sicut Cervus Desiderat,” Mozart’s “Ave Verum,” and pieces by Bach and Mendelssohn. If you’re watching along on television, keep your ears open for Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria,” a piece for eight-voice choir. It’s my new favorite. 

The Pope seems to be running a little late this morning. I wonder how that will impact tonight’s schedule?

Posted: 04.18.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Behind the music

Conducting the choir and orchestra for most of the papal liturgies is cathedral music director Dr. Jennifer Pascual, a native of Jacksonville, Fla. She and her staff are responsible for the music for the papal liturgies, from the initial planning stages and repertoire choice to training the choir, hiring musicians, running the rehearsals, and conducting the choir and orchestra during the pope’s visit. She said that she and her staff have been working “nonstop” since October, when the pope’s visit was announced.

“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Pascual, the first woman to hold the position of cathedral music director at St. Patrick’s, earned her doctorate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., her master’s from the Mannes School of Music in New York City and her bachelor’s from Jacksonville University. Floridians with Sirius Satellite Radio can hear Pascual’s radio show, “Sounds from the Spires,” Mondays 1-2 p.m. and Sundays 8-9 p.m. on the Catholic Channel, Sirius 159.

Posted: 04.17.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

The cantor is at the other end of the block

This is the view from the choir loft at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in New York City. The cathedral, the largest gothic-style church in the United States, is not only a spiritual home for the city’s Catholic population: it’s also a major tourist attraction, welcoming millions of visitors and pilgrims each year.

Look very closely at the front of the sanctuary, and you might make out a lectern in the right side. That’s where the cantor will stand during the mass at St. Patrick’s on Saturday morning -- a full city block away from the choir, organ, and orchestra. I’m sure it’s a challenge to sing from that distance. A good cantor has to do more than keep time; he or she has to anticipate so that his voice reaches the listener in the pew at exactly the same time from the front as the organ and orchestra from the back. A good cantor does not listen to the sounds coming from the balcony to guage his or her timing; he or she listens to the sound that’s closest: the pipes of the sanctuary organ.

Posted: 04.17.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Music and more music

The sheer amount and variety of music being prepared by the combined choirs at the papal events this weekend is staggering. My personal pile of music is just about two inches thick, and includes Gregorian chant, such classics as Brahms’ “How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place” and some newer hymns, like Suzanne Toolan’s “I Am the Bread of Life.”

Many of these pieces were originally composed for choir and organ, and had no orchestral parts. So, over the past few months, arrangers around the country have been creating parts for a fifty-piece symphony orchestra that will play at all of the papal liturgies. Among these arrangers are Orlando native Carl MaultsBy and Orlando diocesan director of music Glenn Osborne. MaultsBy arranged a few pieces for the Yankee Stadium mass, including “Amen, El Cuerpo de Cristo” and “Let Us Break Bread Together,” both of which will be played at Communion. Osborne’s contributions include the Alleluias at both masses, as well as the trilingual intercessions and some mass parts.

Among the languages you’ll hear are German, Latin, Spanish and English.

If you’re interested in seeing a list of the music, click here: St. Patrick Cathedral Web Site.

Posted: 04.17.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

Badges of hope

Posted: 04.17.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

A different time, a different world

04.16.07

The last time I came to New York to see a pope, it was 1995 - and,  some would argue, it was a different world. I was 15 and attended the  Papal Mass with John Paul II in Central Park with hundreds of other  teens, much like students from Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, the  University of Miami, and St. Thomas the Apostle School in Miami will  be doing this year. I’ll be interested to see the differences this  time around.

In 1995, we walked through metal detectors, but I don’t remember  background checks. We were free to sit wherever we wanted within our  sections, leaving many of them an elbow-jostling, blanket-spreading  free-for-all. Pope John Paul II was a tiny white dot with an amazingly  powerful message. Everyone around us sang loudly enough to drown out  the loudspeakers, and everyone received communion within 20 minutes.  For myself and my friends, it was a great experience of how diverse,  yet how universal, the church really is.

I wore the t-shirt from that event on the plane as a fitting kick-off  for the week. We have rehearsal tonight!

Posted: 04.17.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top

 

About Karen

04.16.08

Karen Osborne, editorial assistant for the Florida Catholic, has been involved in music ministry since she was growing up in upstate New York, so it was no surprise when she married a musician that worked for the church. Through their musical connections, they were recently invited to sing with the combined choirs for the papal liturgies in New York City. Follow along with Karen’s behind-the-scenes comments and photos from the choir loft beginning April 17.

Posted: 04.17.08 | Choirgal | Return To Top