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The Mass of St. Leo the Great - Sean Connolly
As part of the renovation of the church, St. Leo's choir took submissions for a brand new mass setting to be composed and debuted at the Rededication mass in December of 2019. The composer selected was Minessota native, Sean Connolly. Here are some word from the composer about his Mass of St. Leo the Great.
"The Mass of St. Leo the Great was inspired, first and foremost, by the liturgy for which it was crafted. Not simply the liturgy of the Roman Rite, with the English texts familiar to modern worshipers, but specifically the liturgy of the Roman Rite as your parish is able to celebrate it. It was my hope that this Mass setting would function well and add progressive beauty and solemnity to the liturgy in every way that liturgies are sung at St. Leo's, whether with accompanist, cantor, and congregation alone, with congregation and choir, or with a full orchestra present. Certain elements of the setting are added with each layer of musical resources, including especially the Kyrie, which expands to a nine-fold setting when the choir is present.
The Mass also drew for its inspiration from the whole heritage of the Church's sacred music. Very specifically, however, from the music that would have been heard in worship during the period around the turn of the 20th Century, when St. Leo's was first built. It was my hope that this stylistic choice would make the music resonate with the architecture of the space. The Mass is tied together by common motives that reappear throughout the movements, some of them inspired by melodies from the sacred music in that period. The harmonic language of the setting, which employs certain colors not often heard today, but in such a way as will not make the setting feel unnatural and unsingable to modern ears, captures, together with the orchestrations, a lot of the distinctive feeling of that era's musical style, which resonates with the color, the artwork, and the architecture of the newly restored parish church.
It is my fond hope that St. Leo's will fruitfully sing this setting for many years to come."
~Sean ConnollyMusic Selection
St. Leo’s Choir is committed to singing music that holds to the ancient and beautiful traditions of our Holy Church while staying as true as possible to the readings of the week. In this effort, St. Leo’s Choir chants parts of the Propers for each weekend mass. We sing a variety of hymns that range from ancient Gregorian hymns to classic and well-known anthems, to modern songs. St. Leo’s also has a history of making music with professional musicians and composers.