Check out this letter that a cantor had sent to Fr. Z. Someone's got a black list going around. I don't think it's the USCCB or its CDW that's circulated it yet. Could be a diocese, or perhaps a pastor. The disapproved song in question is We Remember (that would bring a smile on my face as well as the face of the cantor who wrote the letter; btw, that cantor's music director was a little more sheepish about it).
Speaking of bad music...
Meanwhile, in the combox of the same post, you'll see the hideous song Ashes being tossed about. While they question whether or not it's heretical or pelegian or what not, I question the song's general intelligence ---
WHY WOULD ANY CATHOLIC MUSIC PUBLISHER IN HIS/HER/ITS RIGHT MIND PUBLISH A SONG WHERE THE WORD STUMBLINGS IS WRITTEN IN THREE SYLLABLES AND INCLUDE ITS USE IN A WORSHIP AID FOR CONGREGATIONS???
Third line of verse 2: Give our stum-bl-ings direction...
Seriously - it sounds like it came from a three-year-old that uses the four-syllable type-a-writer. The average adult congregation, I believe, and even the average children's congregation, is a lot smarter than that.
Peace,
BMP
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
MIDDLE NAME MEME
Our ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDREDTH POST
Stolen from Fr. Erik...
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother's maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)
M - Michael is my middle name. (well, DEE-DA-DEE!)
I - Insistant that music at Mass conforms to the official liturgy documents - that's me. Unfortunately, that's what keeps me from getting hired at most parishes.
C - Casavant built three of my home state's largest pipe organs (Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Providence, RI, IV/120; Grace Church/Episcopal, Providence, RI, III/103; St. Matthew Church, Central Falls, RI, III/70, was IV/70).
H - Heavy is my foot on the gas pedal of my motor vehicle
A - April is the month in which the only non-summer baby in my immediate family (parents, siblings, wife, kids, self) was born. My son Brian was born on April Fools' Day.
E - Eric is the first name of the front man (Eric Carmen) of my all-time favorite secular band, Raspberries.
L - Landry is my wife's maiden name. Sadly, it is also the surname of the former priest who composed such ditties as Hail Mary/Gentle Woman, Bloom Where You're Planted, and Abba Father, all of which became big hits in the hymnal Glory and Praise, one of liturgy's biggest sins. Thankfully, my wife and the composer in question are NOT related in any way.
OK - this meme's gone 'round and 'round and 'round, so TAG, YOU'RE IT! to the first SIXTEEN people who read this. (My seven plus Jason's NINE)
Peace,
BMP
Stolen from Fr. Erik...
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother's maiden name).
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged.)
M - Michael is my middle name. (well, DEE-DA-DEE!)
I - Insistant that music at Mass conforms to the official liturgy documents - that's me. Unfortunately, that's what keeps me from getting hired at most parishes.
C - Casavant built three of my home state's largest pipe organs (Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Providence, RI, IV/120; Grace Church/Episcopal, Providence, RI, III/103; St. Matthew Church, Central Falls, RI, III/70, was IV/70).
H - Heavy is my foot on the gas pedal of my motor vehicle
A - April is the month in which the only non-summer baby in my immediate family (parents, siblings, wife, kids, self) was born. My son Brian was born on April Fools' Day.
E - Eric is the first name of the front man (Eric Carmen) of my all-time favorite secular band, Raspberries.
L - Landry is my wife's maiden name. Sadly, it is also the surname of the former priest who composed such ditties as Hail Mary/Gentle Woman, Bloom Where You're Planted, and Abba Father, all of which became big hits in the hymnal Glory and Praise, one of liturgy's biggest sins. Thankfully, my wife and the composer in question are NOT related in any way.
OK - this meme's gone 'round and 'round and 'round, so TAG, YOU'RE IT! to the first SIXTEEN people who read this. (My seven plus Jason's NINE)
Peace,
BMP
GOTTA LOVE A GOOD HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY
I got this from Steve O (no, not Steve O from the MTV show Jackass, but Steve O, a good friend of the snark troupe). Enjoy!
Peace,
BMP
(PS: I may throw in a snarky remark or two here and there.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners:
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master. (More like Stewie Griffin, of Family Guy fame)
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. (More like your typical houseguest on Big Brother)
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar Eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. (What the hell is that box with a pinhole in it anyways?)
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Canadian beef. (How about the 143 million pounds of American beef that's being recalled?)
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up. (or my good-for-nothing cat)
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. (Oh, what-EVAHH!)
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree. (But shorter than the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center)
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine. (That's because the Quick-E-Mart people took it over)
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't. (Does wood sink in water? No! No! It floats! Throw her into the pond! - Monty Python and the Holy Grail)
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup. (Now a dollar store brand of garbage bag filled with vegetable soup might have a better effect. Those Hefty's are pretty dang strong, ya know!)
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30. (Like when the kids from Barney and Friends start singing Song of the Body of Christ - This makes for a good edition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in the near future!)
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze. (or a layer of shiny yellow snow)
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease. (Speaking of maggots, how does a Planned Parenthood big wig look fried in hot grease?)
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph. (and the one leaving Cleveland derails in Indianapolis)
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth. (Before or after Tanya Harding's friends fixed her?)
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met. (Now that I think of it, they were like two hippies that never met. However, they did share a doobie together.)
17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River. (But the rest of his body was tossed in the West River!)
18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut. (I knew he was a bit rusty, but holy bat$&!+!)
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do. (OK, now I scratch my head like a monkey with dandruff!)
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work. (LMAO! Now if that ain't some good-old-fashioned slam-o-rama, what is?)
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while. (BTW, you know that fighter's a cannibal, right?)
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something. (That duck's getting quite the disability package, I've heard!)
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant. (or at a tree, or another ballerina's leg)
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools. (Violent sons of b!+c&3$)
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up. (and emptying out)
Peace,
BMP
(PS: I may throw in a snarky remark or two here and there.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners:
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master. (More like Stewie Griffin, of Family Guy fame)
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. (More like your typical houseguest on Big Brother)
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar Eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. (What the hell is that box with a pinhole in it anyways?)
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Canadian beef. (How about the 143 million pounds of American beef that's being recalled?)
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up. (or my good-for-nothing cat)
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. (Oh, what-EVAHH!)
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree. (But shorter than the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center)
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine. (That's because the Quick-E-Mart people took it over)
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't. (Does wood sink in water? No! No! It floats! Throw her into the pond! - Monty Python and the Holy Grail)
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup. (Now a dollar store brand of garbage bag filled with vegetable soup might have a better effect. Those Hefty's are pretty dang strong, ya know!)
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30. (Like when the kids from Barney and Friends start singing Song of the Body of Christ - This makes for a good edition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in the near future!)
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze. (or a layer of shiny yellow snow)
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease. (Speaking of maggots, how does a Planned Parenthood big wig look fried in hot grease?)
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph. (and the one leaving Cleveland derails in Indianapolis)
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth. (Before or after Tanya Harding's friends fixed her?)
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met. (Now that I think of it, they were like two hippies that never met. However, they did share a doobie together.)
17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River. (But the rest of his body was tossed in the West River!)
18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut. (I knew he was a bit rusty, but holy bat$&!+!)
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do. (OK, now I scratch my head like a monkey with dandruff!)
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work. (LMAO! Now if that ain't some good-old-fashioned slam-o-rama, what is?)
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while. (BTW, you know that fighter's a cannibal, right?)
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something. (That duck's getting quite the disability package, I've heard!)
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant. (or at a tree, or another ballerina's leg)
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools. (Violent sons of b!+c&3$)
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up. (and emptying out)
WE HAVE A WINNER
...in our Christus Vincit Whitewash Challenge!
David "shamusrocks" Doyle has won a copy of my own Variations on Asperges Me for the organ for designing a box of Christus Vincit Whitewash, the detergent that will cleanse your hymnals of liturgical sins! Congratulations, David!
Click on the picture for better detail.
Peace,
BMP
David "shamusrocks" Doyle has won a copy of my own Variations on Asperges Me for the organ for designing a box of Christus Vincit Whitewash, the detergent that will cleanse your hymnals of liturgical sins! Congratulations, David!Click on the picture for better detail.
Peace,
BMP
What a glorious Reminiscere
No sub opportunity this weekend, however, I was treated to a menu of wonderful sacred music and very good preaching. Among the hymns on the list were FOUNDATION, JESUS MEINE ZUVERSICHT, and CRUCIFER. Good organ improvisations on How Firm a Foundation and a resplendent intro and closing tag on Lift High the Cross. The highpoint of the morning was a glorious...I'll say that again...glorious performance at the offertory of the Gilbert Martin "When I surveyed the wondrous cross." I was captured from the first phrase. The men's unison was flawless and their articulation clear, each vowel coming from the previous. Splendid! When the women entered, they did not impose dominance upon the men's voices, but blended smoothly with them. Those familiar with the anthem will know that the work builds in intensity throughout, starting simple and ending big...very big. Yesterday, the choir drew me into their narrative and told me the story. The rest of the congregation were as I was: entirely and utterly enraptured by the singing. The choir were not singing "at" me or "to" me. They were worshipping God, and we, the congregation, were drawn along in their wake, spiritually joining in their song. Excellent work!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS
Third Sunday of Lent (Saturday Anticipated - 4 PM)
February 23, 2008 / Holy Cross Church, Providence, RI
I'll be filling in at the console at Holy Cross this coming Saturday (anticipated for Sunday). Our good friend, Ron Almeida ("Ron" at RPInet), is music director there. All of the selections are his, though he left the Psalm choice up to me. So...
Shepherd me, O God litany...Haugen
If today you hear his voice...Peloquin (Songs of Israel, Volume 2)
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ...Alstott/verse sung to Tone 6F
You are mine...Haas
Sanctus from "Deutsche Messe"...Schubert/Proulx
Memorial D and Amen...Danish
Agnus Dei XVIII
Taste and see...Moore
Lift high the cross..."Crucifer"
Peace,
BMP
February 23, 2008 / Holy Cross Church, Providence, RI
I'll be filling in at the console at Holy Cross this coming Saturday (anticipated for Sunday). Our good friend, Ron Almeida ("Ron" at RPInet), is music director there. All of the selections are his, though he left the Psalm choice up to me. So...
Shepherd me, O God litany...Haugen
If today you hear his voice...Peloquin (Songs of Israel, Volume 2)
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ...Alstott/verse sung to Tone 6F
You are mine...Haas
Sanctus from "Deutsche Messe"...Schubert/Proulx
Memorial D and Amen...Danish
Agnus Dei XVIII
Taste and see...Moore
Lift high the cross..."Crucifer"
Peace,
BMP
ERIC CARMEN FOR THE PIPE ORGAN
OK - on a secular note...
Another thing I've mentioned a couple of times over the past couple of years is (in my secular life) my being a big fan of the 70's power-pop band, Raspberries. Those who know the Raspberries know also of their frontman, Eric Carmen, maker of such hits as All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, and Hungry Eyes.
Now, Raspberries' music often was influenced by bands like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Small Faces, and the Who. Shortly after the band split in 1975 (note: they've been reunited since 2004), Eric Carmen embarked on a solo career. On his self-titled debut album, he showed signs of yet another influence - this one of the classical kind: Sergei Rachmaninoff. In fact, at least four songs on Eric's first album have traces of Rachmaninoff in it - All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, Last Night, and My Girl. Not to mention, the first two titles now often carry the credit "Carmen and Rachmaninoff" with them.
I got to hear pieces of Symphony #2 and sure enough - I found the very passages that inspired Eric in his music. Just the other day, I stumbled onto a YouTube video of organist Jeffrey Smith playing the back half of the Adagio from Symphony #2 (Rachmaninoff, Opus 27) on the Schoenstein organ at St. Paul's Anglo-Catholic Church on K Street in Washington, DC. Within it, you can hear the very melody that inspired Never Gonna Fall in Love Again.
Here is that YouTube video. Enjoy!
Peace,
BMP
Another thing I've mentioned a couple of times over the past couple of years is (in my secular life) my being a big fan of the 70's power-pop band, Raspberries. Those who know the Raspberries know also of their frontman, Eric Carmen, maker of such hits as All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, and Hungry Eyes.
Now, Raspberries' music often was influenced by bands like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Small Faces, and the Who. Shortly after the band split in 1975 (note: they've been reunited since 2004), Eric Carmen embarked on a solo career. On his self-titled debut album, he showed signs of yet another influence - this one of the classical kind: Sergei Rachmaninoff. In fact, at least four songs on Eric's first album have traces of Rachmaninoff in it - All by Myself, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, Last Night, and My Girl. Not to mention, the first two titles now often carry the credit "Carmen and Rachmaninoff" with them.
I got to hear pieces of Symphony #2 and sure enough - I found the very passages that inspired Eric in his music. Just the other day, I stumbled onto a YouTube video of organist Jeffrey Smith playing the back half of the Adagio from Symphony #2 (Rachmaninoff, Opus 27) on the Schoenstein organ at St. Paul's Anglo-Catholic Church on K Street in Washington, DC. Within it, you can hear the very melody that inspired Never Gonna Fall in Love Again.
Here is that YouTube video. Enjoy!
Peace,
BMP
MAN, CAN THESE PATIENTS SING!
As I had posted last Sunday, one of the Masses I covered today was at a Catholic nursing facility - Hospice St. Antoine (known more currently as St. Antoine Residence). It turned out the Mass, over everything a Sunday Mass, was announced for a member of the board of directors at the residence (yeah, I got paid). The Most Rev. Louis E. Gelineau, Bishop Emeritus of Providence (and currently the resident chaplain), was the celebrant.
I really like the way this little chapel is set up. OK - the table altar is par for the course. The organ is garbage - it's this little Yamaha thingie with an indented swell manual and a one-octave pedalboard (hint: music normally doesn't happen here). BUT - it's up in a loft, accessible by elevator or stairs. Even nicer is that the Mass is piped into the patient rooms via intercom for those who can't get around at all, and that Holy Communion is also distributed to those rooms.
The topper of my day is that many of the patients SANG everything pertinent to them. They followed out of WLP's Seasonal Missalette (since there was no number board, I announced). Even the Latin Attende, Domine, which I led a cappella - in Latin, was sung well by the people downstairs. It was great!
Now, what about the typical pewsitter with full abilities in a regular parish church? How many of them do you think are willing to join in singing Attende, Domine? In my experience, not many.
One can learn a lot from a convalescent.
Peace,
BMP
I really like the way this little chapel is set up. OK - the table altar is par for the course. The organ is garbage - it's this little Yamaha thingie with an indented swell manual and a one-octave pedalboard (hint: music normally doesn't happen here). BUT - it's up in a loft, accessible by elevator or stairs. Even nicer is that the Mass is piped into the patient rooms via intercom for those who can't get around at all, and that Holy Communion is also distributed to those rooms.
The topper of my day is that many of the patients SANG everything pertinent to them. They followed out of WLP's Seasonal Missalette (since there was no number board, I announced). Even the Latin Attende, Domine, which I led a cappella - in Latin, was sung well by the people downstairs. It was great!
Now, what about the typical pewsitter with full abilities in a regular parish church? How many of them do you think are willing to join in singing Attende, Domine? In my experience, not many.
One can learn a lot from a convalescent.
Peace,
BMP
Saturday, February 16, 2008
NEWCOMERS TO OUR BLOGROLL
Welcome to the Christus Vincit Definitive Blogroll to the following newcomers (added over the past two weeks or so):
Adrienne's Catholic Corner - lately a frequent commenter on our blog
As We Wait in Joyful Hope - a parishioner at Jason's former parish and a big fan of Jason
Back When We Were Liberal
A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars - who hosted the last Catholic Carnival I sent a post for
Eastward Christian Soldiers - found tonight via Who Links to Me
Hazel Page (The) - found tonight via the TTLB Ecosystem
Perpetual Thursday - found tonight via the TTLB Ecosystem
A Thorn in the Pew - found tonight via Who Links to Me
Vox Feminae - another blogger from Jason's neck of the woods
While going through our sidebar tonight, I checked out the Find Out Who's Linking to Christus Vincit (Who Links to Me) and the TTLB Ecosystem links and confirmed that four blogs I had never seen before have at one point or another added us to their blogrolls, so I added them to ours.
Just a reminder that the blogroll is listed alphabetically, with articles (A, An, The) moved to the end of the title. Therefore, A Thorn in the Pew is listed under "T", not "A".
Adrienne's Catholic Corner - lately a frequent commenter on our blog
As We Wait in Joyful Hope - a parishioner at Jason's former parish and a big fan of Jason
Back When We Were Liberal
A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars - who hosted the last Catholic Carnival I sent a post for
Eastward Christian Soldiers - found tonight via Who Links to Me
Hazel Page (The) - found tonight via the TTLB Ecosystem
Perpetual Thursday - found tonight via the TTLB Ecosystem
A Thorn in the Pew - found tonight via Who Links to Me
Vox Feminae - another blogger from Jason's neck of the woods
While going through our sidebar tonight, I checked out the Find Out Who's Linking to Christus Vincit (Who Links to Me) and the TTLB Ecosystem links and confirmed that four blogs I had never seen before have at one point or another added us to their blogrolls, so I added them to ours.
Just a reminder that the blogroll is listed alphabetically, with articles (A, An, The) moved to the end of the title. Therefore, A Thorn in the Pew is listed under "T", not "A".
IN AN EFFORT TO REFURBISH OUR SIDEBAR...
All our awards have been stored in our brand new TROPHY ROOM. Check out the digs and make yourself at home. Please, no smoking.
Now we just need some wood panels, a fireplace, and a moose head, and it'll be perfect.
The link to the trophy room will be kept on our sidebar for your visiting adventure.
Peace,
BMP
Now we just need some wood panels, a fireplace, and a moose head, and it'll be perfect.
The link to the trophy room will be kept on our sidebar for your visiting adventure.
Peace,
BMP
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