Catholic Patron Saints of Music

 

Tomoko converted to Catholicism in college. One of the unique features of that religion is its famous saints. Several of those saints have special meaning for musicians.

Saint Cecilia is the most famous patroness of musicians. According to legend, she heard heavenly music as she was being wed to a pagan. She told her husband-to-be that she was already betrothed to an angel. When he asked to see that angel, he actually did – and was converted.

Saint Gregory lends his name to Gregorian chant. Why? Because this 6^th century Pope created this kind of monophonic music to accompany liturgical texts.  

Saint Dunstan restored monastic life in 9^th century England, and served as a minute of state to kings. Later in life he taught in Canterbury’s Cathedral school and wrote hymns.

Saint Hildegard Von Bingen, a German who lived in the 12^th century, is considered one of the most prolific and respected composer of liturgical music. She also wrote the musical morality play “Ordo Virtutum.”

Tomoko and many other musicians may have felt the guidance of these saints as they performed and taught music.

Saintly (mainly) Classical Music

 

While Tomoko attended college, she played the organ for the local Catholic Church; she also converted to Catholicism at that time. So she knows the importance of saints in the spiritual life.  Many composers also realized the impact that saints can make, and they composed music in their hoor. Especially as St. Nicholas Day was recently celebrated, here is a seasonal starting alphabetical list by composer.

 

Johann Sebastian Bach: St. Matthew Passion

Berlioz: l'enfance du Christ, oratorio, Op. 25

Britten: Canticle V, Op. 89 “The Death of St. Narcissus”

Britten: Saint Nicolas cantate, Op. 452

Antonio Caldara: Maddalena et piedi di Cristo oratorio

Debussy: Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien musical mystery play

Dvorak: Svata Ludmila oratorio

Josef Foerster: Saint Wenceslas cantata, Op. 140

Lassus: Le Legrime di San Pietro cycle of 20 madrigals

Liszt: Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth oratorio

Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn) – about St. Anthony of Padua

Gian Francesco Malipiero: San Francesco d’Assisi mystery in 4 tableaux

Massenet: Marie-Magdaleine oratorio

Mendelssohn: St. Paul oratorio, Op. 36
Messiaen: St. Francois de’Assise opera

John Knowles Payne: St. Peter oratorio, p. 20

Rachmaninoff: A Literacy of St. John Chyrsostom, Op. 31

Saint-Saens: Oratorio de Noel, Op. 12

Heinrich Schutz: Christmas Oratorio (St. Joseph and Mary)
Strauss: Salome (the part of St. Jochanaan) opera, Op. 54

Virgil Thomson: Four Saints in Three Acts
Van den Booren: La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, Op. 53

Charles Wood: St. Mark Passion

Thanksgiving for Music

 

Thanksgiving is a well known holiday in the United States, and there are several classical music pieces that fit for this time of year.

A popular choice is Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring, which was composed as a ballet to tell the story of American pioneers building a farmhouse. A piano arrangement can be heard at https://youtu.be/zyrOl4vwyD0. Even though the season is spring, this suite expresses the American frontier spirit associated with Thanksgiving.

Vivaldi’s third movement, “Autumn,” from his 1725 composition The Four Seasons certainly capture the feeling of fall. In addition, the lyrics “celebrate the peasant, with songs and dances, and the pleasure of a bountiful harvest.”

England has celebrated days of Thanksgiving for centuries. The 18^th century English composer Maurice Greene wrote the anthem “Thou Visited the Earth, which is very appropriate for Harvest Thanksgiving. The lyrics are based on Psalm 65: ‘Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it; and crownest the year with thy goodness.”

The hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth,” written in 1864 by Folliott Sanford Pierpoint, was first considered a communion hymn, but soon became a popular song for Thanksgiving.

William Lloyd Webber -- a London composer, organist, and choirmaster—wrote “A Hymn of Thanksgiving” in 1936. You probably know his son Andrew Lloyd Webber better because of his 21 musicals and other scores.

But the 4^th century Saints Ambrose and Augustine could be considered the earliest Thanksgiving composers with their “Te Deum,” although Saint Niketas, bishop of Remesiana about the same time in history, is also credited for this hymn of Thanksgiving. The Te Deum is still part of the Liturgy of the Hours, giving thanks to God.

In all these cases, we can be thankful for such classical composers.