Music to Lift your Spirits High

If I have spoken too much about the ugliness of this world, forgive me. My mind continues to be lifted towards God, Who is all good and beautiful.

We've been praying a novena to the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost. My daughter accidentally said, "Spiritual unicorn" instead of "unction" and so now and forever more I doubt I shall ever be able to say the original phrase without imagining a little white unicorn anointing me. Ah, kids.

I don't think I ever shared that last year we sang the Missa Brevis K140 by Mozart along with the Westminster choir for Pentecost. The soloists were magnificent, and for many it was the first time to sing the Mass in the context it was written, not just as a concert piece.

Here's a taste of the Gloria. Lovely, no? It takes about four minutes, and even if you don't understand Latin, you can still make out the words.

Contrast this to the Gloria in Little Organ Mass by Haydn. It's ... FAST! Same words, but sung in a minute. I learned that the king who commissioned this Mass to be written hated long Masses, so Hadyn wrote the music so that each choral part takes one piece of the Gloria and we sing them in parallel. Except for the Amens at the end, we're all singing different words :)

We'll be singing the Haydn for Trinity Sunday (see a picture of the Trinity made imaginable by Guido Reni). Again, the Westminster choir will join us -- they're coming down here for Spoleto and we are so thankful they want to sing with us.

I'm thankful to be here, for our wonderful priests who offer Latin Mass, and for our musical directors who are happy to work with amateurs. If you're in the Charleston area, come to Stella Maris Catholic Church on Sullivan's Island for a taste of the beautiful and sublime.