A Lenten Prayer Service with Archbishop Cordileone, March 11

Miserere: A Lenten Prayer Service with Archbishop Cordileone, March 11, 11 a.m. at Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco. Register to attend in person or to receive the EWTN link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/miserere-a-lenten-service-with-abp-cordileone-new-works-of-sacred-music-tickets-491821690917

Dr. Alfred Calabrese will conduct the 20-voice Band of Voices Choir in a worship service featuring works of Palestrina, Victoria, and Di Lasso paired with works by living Catholic composers, including three World Premieres commissioned by the Benedict XVI Institute: Popule meus by Daniel Knaggs, Ad te levavi oculos meos by Mark Nowakowski and Timor et tremor by Jeffrey Quick, as well as a performance of Frank La Rocca’s Miserere.

In Lent, we walk with Christ towards Calvary in order to rise with him on Easter. If you are or can be at the beautiful and historic Mission Dolores Basilica on March 11 in San Francisco, do not miss this event. Registering today helps plan for the hospitality afterward. (Pizza from Mozzerela di Buffala: bring the kids). If you can’t come, please register to join us virtually via EWTN, which will also live broadcast the service.

The March 11 Lenten prayer service features sung prayers, with great works by Victoria, di Lasso and the works of gifted living Catholic composers Frank La Rocca, Daniel Knaggs, Jeffrey Quick, and Mark Nowakowski, including three world-premieres.

Program

1. Confitemini Domino (Psalm 136 (135) chanted in Latin)

2. Popule Meus, Tomas Luis de Victoria, c.1548-1611 (edited by Daniel Knaggs)

3. Popule Meus, Daniel Knaggs, b.1983 (Commissioned by the Benedict XVI Institute, world premiere).

4. Timor et tremor, Orlando di Lasso, c.1532-94

5. Timor et tremor, Jeffrey Quick, b. 1956 (commissioned by the Benedict XVI Institute, World Premiere)

6. Ad te levavi oculos meos, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, c.1525-94

7. Ad te levavi oculos meos, Mark Nowakowski, b. 1978 (commissioned by the Benedict XVI Institute, World Premiere)

8. Miserere mei, Orlando di Lasso

9. Miserere, Frank La Rocca, b. 1951

Meet the Living Composers

Daniel Knaggs is an internationally recognized Houston-based composer. In 2022 alone his works were performed in Singapore, Australia, Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Italy, England, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Portugal, the Czech Republic and throughout the United States. He loves evoking vivid imagery in his music, and focusing his efforts into ongoing projects such as his 50-year Ave Maria Project (2005-2054) and his “After” Motets Project. Among his many awards are the 2019 Noël Minet Prize (Germany) and the 2012 David Maria Turoldo Composer Competition (Italy). In addition to composing, Daniel Knaggs is the Artistic Director of the new Poland-based choir, Ensemble Invocatio, which he founded in 2022. He can be reached at https://danieljknaggs.com/Knaggs

Frank La Rocca is the composer-in-residence at the Benedict XVI Institute. His recent work Mass of the Americas was hailed as “Perhaps the most significant Catholic composition of our lifetimes.“ (Michael Olbash). In September 2022, the recording of the Mass of the Americas with the Benedict XVI Choir (Richard Sparks, conducting) debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts in in traditional classical music. Frank La Rocca’s other commissions for the Benedict XVI Institute include the Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra, the Requiem Mass for the Homeless, and the Messe des Malades: Honoring Our Lady of Lourdes. His work can be found at FrankLaRocca.com.

Mark Nowakowski’s works represent a modern merger of bold expression and mystical contemplation, Slavic pathos and American individualism. His work has been commissioned and performed internationally including the Kronos Quartet, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Silesian Quartet, Orkiestra Camerata Stargard, Stowarzyszenia Mozart, Vox Musics of Sacrement, the choirs of St. John Cantius, and of the Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C and the Cracow Brass Quartet. Gramophone Magazine called “Blood, Forgotten” Mark Nowakowski’s debut album on Naxos “at once fierce, haunting and mystical.” He currently serves as composer-in-residence for His Majesty’s Men and directs the Vos Omnes Virtual Choir. He wrote the film score for “Mass of the Ages” and “Discovering Tolkien.” Mark Nowakowski can be reached at: http://current.marknowakowski.com/

Jeffrey Quick’s music is print-published by Lorenz and CanticaNOVA; his sacred works are available at cpdl.org, while secular works can be purchased at newmusicshelf.com He retired as assistant music librarian at Case Western Reserve University in 2020, and directs the schola cantorum of St. Sebastian Church in Akron Ohio. His first premiere by the Benedict XVI Institute was Versa est in luctum performed by the Archbishop’s Schola in San Francisco on March 5, 2022. More information is available at jeffreyquick.com