I HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY dreading this day and this moment—but for all the best of reasons. Apparently, I’ve been here a while. I began playing the organ at St. Cecilia on the Third Sunday of Advent—Gaudete Sunday—in 1989. My first week on the job I played for Msgr. Mackey’s funeral who retired as Pastor in…
New Professional Developments
GREAT BLESSING of late is having an abundance of music to compose. Recent developments include a new publication for organ, commissions for The Groton School and The Seraphim Singers, contributions to the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal , a new four movement work for trumpet player Richard Kelley, and a collaboration on a Pentecost anthem…
Gregorian Impressions • Plainchant Settings for Organ
BRAND NEW release from The Sacred Music Press/The Lorenz Corporation, Gregorian Impressions is a collection of organ works based on familiar and beloved plainchants. Shifting in character, they are designed to accommodate a variety of liturgical or concert circumstances. At the very least, this music can be performed on a two manual instrument with limited…
Now Christ, Thou Sun of Righteousness • SATB & Organ
Follow @RichardJaClark NEW CHORAL ANTHEM for Lent, Now Christ, Thou Sun of Righteousness (SATB & Organ) is a setting of Iam, Christe, sol iustitiae traditionally sung at Lauds during Lent. It recognizes the need for repentance and awaits glorious redemption at Easter. John Dryden’s (1631-1700) beautiful translation is set to lyric, chant-like melodies. The score…
Msgr. Michael F. Groden’s Contribution to Sacred Music
HE RECENT passing on Christmas Day of Msgr. Michael F. Groden punctuated not only what was, but what is, and what hopefully is yet to come. Something of a “quite lion,” his presence came roaring back as a great reminder of his contributions to the Church, the City of Boston, the liturgy, and the the…
Kelley & Clark in Concert • St. Patrick’s Cathedral • All Souls Day
EW YORK — Thursday, November 2, 2017 • 7:00 p. m. • Richard Kelley, trumpet, and composer/organist Richard J. Clark team up again at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in a concert of American composers Clark, Hovhaness, Pinkham, and Sowerby. In observing All Souls Day—Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, the featured work is…
Three Entrance Antiphons for the Celebration of Marriage
EDDINGS ARE a vital part of the sacramental life of the Church. Likewise, the music must reflect the joy of a life with Christ at the center. The catalyst for this collection of simple Entrance Propers in English was Msgr. Rick Hilgartner. In 2016, I was assisting with music for an FDLC workshop on the…
Kelley & Clark in Concert • Boston Preview Event
OSTON — Friday, September 29, 2017 • 7:00 p. m. • Richard Kelley, trumpet, and composer/organist Richard J. Clark team up again at St. Cecilia Church, Boston in a concert of American composers Clark, Hovhaness, Pinkham, and Sowerby. This concert offers Boston audiences a preview of their upcoming performance at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New…
“That’s not Eucharistic” • Why We Sing the Communion Antiphons
NE SUDAY I received (through a third party, of course) a complaint about what the choir had been singing during communion. We frequently included the proper communion antiphon. The criticism was terse: “That’s not Eucharistic.” Correct. It was not. Well, not directly or in an obvious manner. But it was. During the 1990s, my choir…
National Anthem • Choral Arrangement for Fenway Park
RECENTLY, THE SAINT CECILIA PARISH CHOIR, Boston, sang The Star-Spangled Banner at Fenway Park prior to a Red Sox game. I took the opportunity to customize an arrangement that was not only well-suited to the strengths of this choir, but hopefully expresses the dignity, reverence, and passion worthy of our great country. At the very…