by David Clayton on May 4, 2012
A composer tells us his approach in composing works that are fresh and new, while reflecting the timeless principles that constitute sacred music. Listen also to his beautiful newly composed Mass. The following is an essay written by the composer Paul Jernberg. Paul has composed his Mass of St Philip Neri for the new translation [...]
by David Clayton on October 18, 2011
The choir at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is busy learning a repertoire for the Mass and the Liturgy. The aim is to have a repertoire that is small enough that each piece is heard often enough by those who are not in the choir that they can become familiar and sing along. At [...]
by David Clayton on May 12, 2011
Over the period of the Octave of Easter, selections from The Office of Readings have shed more light on the significance of the ‘eighth day’ of creation for me. Much of the symbolism described in this piece I was already aware of (and indeed I have already written about on this site). What is new [...]
by David Clayton on April 20, 2011
As part of our build up to Easter during this Holy Week, here is a posting by professional chorister, Elizabeth Black, about a piece by the 17th century composer Antonio Lotti: his Crucifixion. Elizabeth sings in the choir of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC and this will be part of their Good [...]
by David Clayton on February 4, 2011
This is sacred music from pre-Reformation England. Sarum is old name for the town of Salisbury and it disappeared as a form of the Church’s liturgy after the Council of Trent. However, it was retained in some form as it became the basis of Anglican church music and for the Book of Common Prayer. The [...]
by David Clayton on November 25, 2010
We had a banquet at Thomas More College in New Hampshire before people dispersed for Thanksgiving. Before the dinner we chose to chant the first 8 verses of Psalm 114 – ‘When Isreal came out of Egypt’ in order to help us meditate on the meaning of this very American holiday.
by David Clayton on November 10, 2010
Frederick Stocken is a Catholic composer who composes genuinely high quality classical music that actually sounds good. There is no hint of either dissonance or minimalism in his work (which seem to be the two streams that most modern composers occupy).
by David Clayton on June 4, 2010
Drum, bass ‘n violins I would like to bring to your attention the music of composer George Sarah. George is a Catholic who lives in Los Angeles and since 1985 has regularly been commissioned by film and TV companies to compose scores for their programming. I won’t go through the names, but his portfolio is [...]