On Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m., members of the combined choirs of two west side Catholic churches, Blessed Sacrament and Christ the King, will present a pre-service concert of sacred music at Sacred Heart Church, 730 S. 12th St. in Springfield. Musical selections include Mozart’s Ave Verum, Franck’s Panis Angelicus, and Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus, in addition to other works. The concert is a tribute to St. Cecilia, known as the patron saint of musicians and poets, whose feast day falls on the same date.
Blessed Sacrament’s music director, Jody Kienzler, has an affinity for this beloved saint and looks forward to joining Catholic musicians worldwide in celebrating her feast day.
“When I became a Catholic in 2002, I chose St. Cecilia for my patron saint,“ said Kienzler. “I also recently sang at her memorial grave in the Catacombs of Rome with other Blessed Sacrament musicians.”
After being approached by long-time Sacred Heart parishioner (and Blessed Sacrament office manager) Margaret Antenan about the possibility of bringing a musical event to her church, Kienzler immediately thought of a concert honoring St. Cecilia — something she had long wanted to do.
Some details of St. Cecilia’s life may have been fictionalized, but what is believed to be true is that she was born a Christian to a noble Roman family in 200 A.D. and died a martyr in 230 AD. It is said that she was forced to marry a pagan named Valerian, but sat apart from him at their wedding, singing to God instead. After her execution, she was buried in the Catacombs. Her body was later transferred to the church that bears her name in the Trastevere section of Rome, reputedly on the site of the house in which she had lived.
St. Cecilia has been widely lauded over the centuries. One of the world’s oldest musical institutions is named after her — The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, founded by Pope Sixtus V. Many great works of art, including musical compositions, oratorios, libretti and poems have been inspired by her and penned by famous composers like Handel, Mahler, Gounod, Britten, and Purcell, and poets like Dryden, Pope, and Auden. Her influence can also be noted in more contemporary song stylings from recording artists such as the Andrew Sisters and Paul Simon. St. Cecilia is often depicted playing a viola, a small organ, or other musical instruments.
This concert is the second musical collaboration between Blessed Sacrament and Christ the King. Members of the two church choirs also sang at the Mass for Couples Married 50 Years or More at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in September. Christ the King’s music director, Linda Younkin, will once again co-direct with Kienzler.
“The feast day of St. Cecilia is an opportunity for us to acknowledge and celebrate the gift of music and the invaluable role that it plays in liturgy and prayer,” Younkin said.
Younkin believes that the collaboration of the two choirs sets a musical standard of excellence that surpasses what could be achieved separately, and that singing in Latin connects Catholics to their faith’s history.
Performing in the beautifully renovated and well-appointed church also heightens the experience. Sacred Heart is the oldest standing Catholic church in the city, founded in 1884 and erected in 1895 during the presidency of Grover Cleveland. Along with another inner city church, St. Patrick (est. 1905), it makes up the two-church parish of St. Katharine Drexel, formed in 2001.
One of three priests assigned by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki to serve St. Katharine Drexel, Father Kevin Mann, S.J.C., comes from St. John Cantius Church in the Archdiocese of Chicago, which is acclaimed for its extensive music program. Father Mann says that during his years of religious formation in the Canons Regular community there, sacred music such as Gregorian chant became a necessary component to his prayer life.
“I also enjoy very much Renaissance Polyphony, particularly the music of Palestrina,” said Father Mann. “His arrangement of Sicut Cervus almost satisfies the longing that the psalm speaks of, in so far as that is possible.”
Kienzler hopes that others will also experience a deep spiritual connection through this collaboration of great sacred choral works.
“All of us are coming together in a beautiful space praising God and hopefully igniting a spirit of love and unity in the church and in the neighborhood,” said Kienzler.
Erin Foley began her writing career in the film and television industry of Los Angeles. She has been a professional writer for over 30 years and has enjoyed singing in choirs since childhood.