Anerio's Venite ad me omnes

Venite ad me omnes is a motet written by Felice Anerio (1560-1614), an Italian composer and priest who studied under Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina.  In his article in the November/December 2021 issue of Touchstone, Anthony Esolen explained that this motet is for eight voices in two choirs who respond to each other "as if the choirs were competing with one another in power and feeling and joy." (Perhaps like the crowds of supporters at a basketball game chanting "We've got spirit" at each other?) In particular, note that all eight voices sing "Omnes" together in the first verse (0:17).

According to Esolen, the piece (which is three minutes, fourteen seconds long) includes the following verses:

• Come to me all ye who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will refresh you, says the Lord (Matthew 11:28).
• The bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world (John 6:51).
• Take and eat, take and eat (Matthew 26:26).
• This is my body, which shall be given up for you; do this, do this, in memory of me (Luke 22:19).
• Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him (John 6:56).
  

Bach's Actus tragicus

J.S. Bach composed the cantata Gottes Zeit is die allerbeste Zeit ("God's time is the very best time") around 1707, when he was a young man.  As Ken Myers observed in his column,

[It] is both a musical and theological tour de force. In this 20-minute-long work (also known as Actus tragicus) Bach organizes biblical texts, Lutheran melodies, and instrumental textures to convey the comforting message of the gospel in the face of death. ... This remarkable and confidently assuring work should be much better known than it is. So now: go hear it. Be comforted and amazed.

See, for instance, this video of a performance by the Netherlands Bach Society.

Lauridsen's O magnum mysterium

We recently had the pleasure to hear a wind orchestra version of Morten Lauridsen's O magnum mysterium, based on his beautiful choral arrangement, which he composed in 1994. 

The piece properly belongs to the Christmas season but can be enjoyed any time.


Included here is an image (from Wikimedia) of Gerrit (Gerard) van Honthorst's Adoration of the Shepherds, 1622, in which the light that shines on the faces of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds (and the ox) radiates from the infant Jesus.

The Beauty of the Magnificat

Image: "Visitation," by Jacques Daret, via Wikimedia Commons.

In Chapter 2 of Bach's Major Vocal Works, Markus Rathey described the beauty of Bach's Magnificat in D Major (BWV 243).  At the time that he composed this work, Johann Sebastian Bach was employed as a musician and teacher at a Lutheran church in Leipzig, a city in Saxony, an area of Germany that is near Poland and the Czech Republic.

Bach composed this Magnificat for the vespers liturgy on July 2, 1723, the feast of the Visitation of Mary.  It was placed after the sermon and before the final prayers and closing hymn.

The key theme is Mary's praise of God's mercy and strength, and the work balances interpreting the text (from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke) and creating a musical structure (which Rathey called its "architecture").  The piece has twelve movements, and it begins and ends with exuberant, celebratory movements that announce God's power using many instruments (including trumpets and timpani) and a five-part chorus.  The other movements include more celebrations with the whole chorus; arias for soloists, including sopranos, of course, because the Magnificat is the song of a woman; and a duet that highlights God's mercy and love.

The Spirit of the Liturgy

In his book The Spirit of the Liturgy, published in 2000, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI discussed the history of Christian liturgical music, which began after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-2):

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."

According to Benedict, "Christians now sing an altogether new song, which is truly and definitively new in view of the wholly new thing that has taken place in the Resurrection of Christ. ... It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us to sing. ... Church music comes into being as a charism, a gift of the Spirit."

Liturgical music went through different phases, and each phase ended with changes that were made to keep it centered on Jesus Christ and the true nature of the liturgy.

Regarding music in the current age, Benedict laments that classical music is "an elitist ghetto," while two other types of music entertain everyone else: pop music, which is a commercial product, and rock music, which provides only "the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects."

Liturgical music, unlike these forms, must proclaim the Word in response to God's love, inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that it "elevates the senses by uniting them with the spirit" and expresses "man's special place in the general structure of being."  Finally, liturgical music should have a "cosmic character" because, in the liturgy, "we sing with the angels."

Five Seconds of Every #1 Pop Single

A forty-six-minute-plus medley of every Number One since 1956.

Swahili Our Father wins Grammy

The lyrics to "Baba Yetu" are the Lord’s Prayer in Swahili. A recording by the Soweto Gospel Choir became the first song written specifically for a video game to win a Grammy award.

Beaumont Family video

This video from 1986 is a story about my talented cousins, the Beaumont Family. Featured are my Aunt Margaret and my grandparents, Joe and Rose Herrmann. Numerous other family members appear throughout.

Prince of Denmark's March

The processional at our wedding 15 years ago was Prince of Denmark's March.
See the Wikipedia entry and this nice video.

End of the World Parody

Parody of local news and their the world is ending attitude about ultimately insignificant events - especially appropriate given the nonstop coverage of the (admittedly historic) blizzard. Plus it has music by the greatest American rock band ever.

Classic Elvis Presley

See this video of Elvis singing "Trying to Get to You" on a 1968 NBC special.

The Mom Song

Anita Renfroe sings her famous Mom Song with energy and at an unbelievable tempo.

It recounts the typical day in the life of a mom with kids in school, and is set to Rossini's William Tell Overture.

Star Wars Greatest Hits

Star Wars Main Theme

Throne Room theme

Princess Leia's Theme

The Imperial March

Make You Feel My Love

The terrific (and often-covered) Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan. (The "video" is just the song title.)