“O how glorious is the kingdom…”

“O how glorious is the Kingdom wherein Christ reigns with all the saints!” (O quam gloriosum: Antiphon for the Magnificat on November 1)

Some years ago I was captivated by a magnificent 14th century Madonna in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was infinitely soulful, beautiful in representation and proportion, perfect except for one thing: at some point over the course of the centuries she had lost her left arm and the baby! I was reminded of how much of the great music of the church, composed to the glory of God and the edification of the Church, has, in effect, lost its left arm and the baby as, over the centuries, its performance has shifted from the church to the concert hall. Particularly is this true of settings of the “Ordinary” of the Mass – the Kyrie, Gloria in excelsis, Credo, Sanctus and Benedictus, Agnus Dei – texts familiar to us all as we sing or say them every week at the Eucharist. Virtually every significant composer in the history of Western music has written at least one musical setting of these ancient, yet ever new, sacred texts, at least prior to the 20th century. It is a great joy, once or twice a year, to return some of this great music to its intended purpose.
Whether in the elevated and (to our ears) more austere style of the Renaissance, the exuberant yet soulful style of Mozart and Haydn, or the colorful and complex style of Stravinsky or Poulenc, this music gives voice to the Ultimate, gives a glimpse of things invisible other than through the eyes and ears of faith. As with all things important and profound, this music makes great demands on the hearer. Secular expectations of catchy tunes and toe-tapping rhythms will be disappointed. But as these composers crank up what I like to call their “great cosmic engines” those who open themselves to the leading of God through this great art will be shown extraordinary things. The music for our Solemn Eucharist on November 1, along with the great traditional hymns for All Saints, will include: the Missa O quam gloriosum (and the motet upon which it is based) by the 16th century Spanish composer Tomas Luis de Victoria; and the ultimate “cosmic engine” organ composition, the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by J.S. Bach.