The place of sacred music in the life of the church has an effective function and a lofty purpose. Its function is to be the handmaiden of the liturgy, making the sung prayers beautiful, solemn, and moving. The lofty purpose of sacred music, like the liturgy itself, was described most succinctly by Pope St. Pius X when he wrote that the purpose of sacred music is "the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful."

     Sacred music, because of the important place it holds in the life of the church, has always held an important place in the life of the seminary. Desiring to have the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours carried out with their proper solemnity in the seminary, provision has always been made for a choir of seminarians to lead the singing of the community, utilizing the best sacred music available for and suitable to men’s voices. This, in turn, has formed generations of priests with a love of the sacred Liturgy and sacred music, setting standards which pastors have hoped to emulate in their parishes. The Good News of Jesus Christ is preached from the choir stalls as well as from the ambo, and many who are inhibited from receiving the Word in a sermon may receive it, unexpectedly, in the text of a chant, a hymn, or a motet.

     Performance of the rich treasury of sacred music is not limited to the walls of a church or seminary chapel. Included in this recording are some of the hymns and chants which helped to transform a stadium and a concert hall into sacred places where God was glorified in the midst of the secular: Pope Paul VI’s Mass for Peace held at Yankee Stadium in October of 1965 and Exsultet! An Easter Concert of Sacred Music, celebrating the centennial of St. Joseph’s Seminary, held at the Performing Arts Center, State University of New York, Purchase, in April of 1997.

     Ninety thousand people held tickets to The Papal Mass for Peace in Yankee Stadium, celebrated on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4th, 1965. This historic mass by Pope Paul VI, the first Pontiff ever to visit the United States, was organized by the Archdiocese of New York in conjunction with the Papal visit to the United Nations. Msgr. Richard B. Curtin, director of the Commission on Church Music for the Archdiocese, conducted the choir comprised of 225 male voices from the nine major seminaries in the New York metropolitan area. Principal organist, John Grady, director of music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, was assisted by Frank Campbell-Watson.

     As he made his way to the altar amidst tumultuous cries and cheers, the Holy Father turned to the prie-dieu and knelt. Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd. In the serenity of that moment, as the pontiff knelt in private prayer before the altar in Yankee Stadium, Msgr. Curtin led the choir, organ and instrumentalists in the Prayer of St. Francis, arranged for the occasion by composer Ralph Hunter, and beautifully captured on this recording.

     Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. . . . the prayer of the saint segued into the Pope’s celebration of a Votive Mass for Peace. During his homily the Holy Father spoke of the importance of his visit: "This is the day which we have desired for centuries! The day which, for the first time, sees the Pope setting foot on this young and glorious continent!" Msgr. Curtin remarked in a published account of the Papal Mass that "the fervor of the congregation’s singing was impressive and its prayerfulness unmistakable." As the Holy Father departed the mass, he was sung on his way with the acclamatory hymn, Christus Vincit: Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ rules! New York Times reporter William Farrell wrote:

As he neared the car, thousands of voices erupted in unrestrained praise for the waving, smiling Pontiff, who shook hands with people in aisle seats. As the mass ended and the Pope left, the sports arena resounded to the chant, ‘Long live the Pope! Long live the Pope!’

     Thirty-two years later, on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of St. Joseph’s Seminary, the Seminary Choir, in concert with the Festival Choir of men and women, chosen soloists, organ and orchestra, performed a musical celebration on April 6, 1997, entitled: Exultet! An Easter Concert of Sacred Music. In the concert hall of the Performing Arts Center of S.U.N.Y., Purchase, Fr. Anthony D. Sorgie, director of music and academic dean, conducted musical selections organized around the text of the Exultet, or Paschal Proclamation—a musical and liturgical highlight of the Easter Vigil, celebrated in every Roman Catholic parish. The necessity of moving the concert to an off-campus venue was explained by former rector, Bishop Edwin F. O’Brien: "The venerable walls of our beloved seminary are unable to contain the numbers who will enjoy Exultet!"

     Over 3,000 supporters of the seminary attended the concert performed by the ninety-six members of the Festival Choir, representing more than thirty-five parishes of the archdiocese, as well as the Seminary Choir and the Schola Cantorum. From this musical feast, three selections have been included in this recording: Salvation is Created, by the Russian composer Pavel Tschesnokov; the Hallelujah from Ludwig van Beethoven’s oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, and This is the Night, by contemporary composer Jeffrey Schneider.

     Bridging almost forty years of choral singing, the music recorded here gives continued evidence of the message written many hundreds of years ago by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews: "Jesus Christ is the same—yesterday, today, and forever!" The reverence and beauty demonstrated in the singing of the different choirs is eloquent testimony to the musical heritage of the Catholic Church and its faithful handing-on of the teaching so eloquently proclaimed by Pope John Paul II when he visited Dunwoodie on October 6, 1995:

If you are to become priests, it will be for the purpose–above all other purposes–of proclaiming the Word of God and feeding God’s people with the Body and Blood of Christ.... If there is one challenge facing the Church and her priests today, it is the challenge of transmitting the Christian message whole and entire, without letting it be emptied of its substance. The Gospel cannot be reduced to mere human wisdom. Salvation lies not in clever human words or schemes, but in the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Christian message, transmitted here in song, voice and instrument – is a powerful message for the ears and hearts of those who will listen.

Ecce Panis Angelorum
^{"Behold the bread of Angels"}

Attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas, this beloved text is taken from Lauda Sion Salvatorem (O Zion, praise thy Saviour), the Sequence for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. The composer of the musical setting is unknown.

Ave Verum Corpus
^{"Hail true body born of the Virgin Mary"}

O Salutaris Hostia
^{"O Saving Victim, opening wide the gate of heaven to all below."}

The last two stanzas of St. Thomas Aquinas’ hymn for Lauds (Morning Prayer) of Corpus Christi, Verbum supernum prodiens, (The heavenly Word proceeding forth), written at the request of Pope Urban IV, who established the Feast in 1264, form the text of this hymn sung by Roman Catholics at the beginning of the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The setting is by the German composer Haller.

Tantum Ergo
^{"In face of so great a mystery, therefore, let us bow down and worship."}

Taken from the last two verses of St. Thomas Aquinas’ hymn for Vespers (Evening Prayer) of Corpus Christi, Pange lingua gloriosi (Sing, o my tongue, and praise the mystery of the glorious body), this hymn is sung immediately proceeding the blessing of the people with the Blessed Sacrament at Benediction. The musical setting is by the German composer Johann Kasper Aiblinger (1779-1867).

O Sacrum Convivium
^{"O Sacred Banquet in which Christ is received"}

Attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas, the Magnificat Antiphon for Second Vespers of Corpus Christi is known as a summary of the Church’s teaching about the Sacrament of the Altar—the Sacred Banquet—"in which Christ is received, the memory of His Passion renewed, the soul is filled with grace and a pledge of future glory is bestowed. Allelulia!" The musical setting is by the Italian composer, Ludovico Viadana (1560-1627).

Ave Maria
^{"Hail Mary, full of grace"}

Vere Languores
^{"True Weariness"}

The text of this responsory from the Office of Tenebrae for Good Friday is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The setting is by the Italian composer Antonio Lotti (d. 1740) who wrote in a late Renaissance style despite the age in which he lived.

Adoramus Te
^{"We adore you"}

Tibi Laus
^{"Praise to you"}

Veni Creator Spiritus
^{"Come, Creator Spirit"}

This ancient hymn celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the infant Church, is sung at Terce (Daytime Prayer) and Vespers (Evening Prayer) on Pentecost, and is presented here in an arrangement that juxtaposes Gregorian chant with a setting by the early twentieth century German-American composer Singenberger.

The Prayer of Saint Francis
^{"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace"}

At the request of Msgr. Curtin, composer Ralph Hunter rearranged this piece originally written for female voices, to suit the vocal talents of the choir of male seminarians who sang for the historic Papal Mass in Yankee Stadium on October 4, 1965. As the choir sang this prayer of the saint long venerated by Pope Paul VI, the pontiff donned his priestly vestments in preparation for the votive Mass for peace which embodied the recent liturgical changes made by the Second Vatican Council.

Christus Vincit
^{"Christ conquers"}

Chosen as the recessional hymn for the Papal Mass, this series of thousand-year-old sung acclamations from the Gallican church alternates the refrain "Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ rules!" with invocations for the Pope and the Bishop. Sung in Latin, the setting was arranged by Frank Campbell-Watson.

Kyrie
^{"Lord, have mercy"}

English court composer William Byrd (1543-1623), while secretly a Catholic, produced works for the Protestant services of the Church of England. This Kyrie is from his Catholic repertoire, heard only after his death. The Kyrie occupies a unique place in church music in that it is only part of the traditional Roman Mass sung in Greek. As the first movement in Byrd’s "Mass for Five Voices" it sets the musical motifs for the entire composition.

O Sacrum Convivium
^{"O Sacred Banquet in which Christ is received"}

Jesu Rex Admirabilis
^{"O Jesus, King most wonderful!"}

Part of the hymn Jesu, Dulcis Memoria (Jesus, Sweet Memory), attributed to St. Bernard (1090-1153), this text was sung on the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus which (prior to the Second Vatican Council) fell on the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany. Although the feast was removed from the liturgical calendar, a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus is permitted. The musical setting alternates between verses in Gregorian chant and a choral arrangement by Italian Renaissance choral composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594).

Ave Verum Corpus
^{"Hail true body born of the Virgin Mary"}

In Monte Oliveti
^{"On the Mount of Olives Christ our Lord prayed to the Father"}

German composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) provides the setting for the text of the first Responsory from the Office of Tenebrae sung on Holy Thursday and based on passages from the Gospels.

The Angel Cried
^{"The angel cried to the Lady full of grace"}

Russian composer Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837-1910) provides the musical setting for this text— the refrain and the Ninth Ode of the Paschal Canon of St. John of Damascus —which forms part of the Paschal Matins sung at midnight of Easter in the Byzantine Church.

Sicut Cervus
^{"As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul is thirsting for You, my God" Ps:41(42)}

Palestrina’s motet is based on the text that was sung in the pre-Vatican II Roman Rite at the Easter Vigil as the procession went from the front of the church to the Baptismal Font.

Salvation is Created
^{"Salvation is created for the people of all the nations"}

The ability to join traditional orthodox liturgical forms with modern musical style is a marked characteristic of the work of Russian composer Pavel Tschesnokov (1877-1921) and is well demonstrated in this four-part a cappella composition.

This is the Night
^{"This is the night when Jesus broke the chains of death"}

This is premier recording of contemporary American composer Jeffrey Schneider’s (b. 1959) poetic hymn based on the text of Exultet (the Easter Proclamation), which is sung by a priest or deacon at the Easter Vigil.

Hallelujah
^{"Praise the Lord"}