New York's turn

Pool Photo: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times.
Copyright © 2008 The New York Times Company.
The papal Mass from Yankee Stadium in New York is being broadcast now. I am, unfortunately, having to watch it on a Spanish broadcast station that isn't coming through with a completely clear signal, and their broadcasters not only have been chattering constantly during the hymns and music (and not even talking about the music!), but they are providing simultaneous Spanish translation of the English Mass on top of the English. They are also talking and interjecting comments during the Mass itself. It's going to drive me crazy by the end of the Mass! Nevertheless, I'm going to write this as a play-by-play for those of you (if any) who care. I'm writing this in a long thunderstorm, and my DSL connection keeps flickering on and off, so I hope I can get this posted without losing it in a power failure.

They have a very different approach to things in New York, from what I can see. The stadium platform design is very dramatic and theatrical, and they had priests processing in in a way that required the lines to cross. While in Washington, the focal point behind the altar was a large crucifix, the focus of the New York altar is a large banner bearing the papal coat of arms. New York also has a big papal coat of arms over the pitcher's mound. Both Masses are votive Masses of the Holy Spirit; Washington, though, vested the pope and concelebrants in red—the traditional liturgical color for Masses of the Holy Spirit—but New York has chosen to use white, perhaps thinking that it's still the Easter season. New York also put the Holy Father in a striking (but I hate it) contemporary mitre with stylized crosses all over it that I think are supposed to be evocative of flame. Also, in Washington, the music was led by someone appointed by the archbishop (who happened to be the person who directed the music at the archbishop's enthronement as bishop of Pittsburgh) who lived out in the Maryland suburbs and who assembled an archdiocesan-wide choir of about 500; in New York, the cathedral's music director has done all the music planning and it appears (from what I hear from Catholic musician friends in New York) they are using the cathedral choirs and supplementing by specific invitation to get up to about 200. NY is getting a much more professional sound from their choir, though. I wish my television were clearer, because I can't quite figure out what the cantors are wearing as vestments. At first, I thought the guy was wearing a purple Nike warm-up suit with flowing sleeves! New York's music seems to be more orchestral; in Washington, the instruments were more of an accompaniment to the organ.

The preliminaries were interesting. I saw one priest talking on a cell phone as he processed in. They also made use of the vast green space of the baseball field to use a bunch of liturgical dancers, something I didn't see in Washington (and for which I am thankful). Couldn't hear the music over the announcers. They had a lot of pop star singers slated to perform/entertain, but the only one I got a glimpse of was Harry Connick, Jr., playing a grand piano over home base.

Once the Mass itself started (it was a little late, in contrast to Washington's two minutes early), they opened with the very same hymn tune used in Washington, Lasst uns er freuen (a/k/a Vigiles et Sancti, a/k/a "Ye watchers and ye holy ones," but with different words. ) The arrangement was different, and, what with the television miking and all, I can't tell if the congregation is invited to sing along or not. It sounded almost like it was a male soloist with the choir singing backup, and it vaguely reminded me of a contemporary English arrangement of the hymn by the well-known English atheist John Rutter. Once the hymn finished, the choir sang a Renaissance polyphonic anthem that sounded like one of the Tu es Petrus (You are Peter) settings.

So far, for the Mass setting, I didn't recognize the Kyrie (it was mildly contemporary), but the Gloria is from de la Victoria's Missa O Magnum Mysterium. The Psalm is something contemporary with a rather saccharine sound that reminds me a bit (but it isn't him) of Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber's earlier works (Evita is popping into mind). They are also mixing English and Spanish both with the verses and in the antiphon. The Gospel Alleluia appears to be a glitzy arrangement of the hymn tune Victory. The deacon is doing a good job chanting the Gospel; it was just read in D.C.

The homily appears to be interestingly supportive of immigrants and the Holy Father is praising the contributions of immigrants to American society and the American Church. There was a bit of the usual spiel about protecting unborn children. Otherwise, nothing surprising or controversial. The homily is over now; the stadium has erupted into baseball park-like cheers for the pope. LOL

They're calming down now, as they've moved into a chanting of the Nicene Creed in Latin. The intercessions are all being read in different languages. The response is being sung to a mixed language antiphon I've heard before (but I can't recall the name/composer).

How lovely! The choir is singing the offertory: "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place" from Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, in English. It's nice to have a proper offertory anthem for a change. Choir sounds good. I want to choke me some announcers who won't shut up during the music. The organist is improvising on the "How Lovely" theme as the pope finishes up censing the altar.

The Mass setting for the Sanctus, Benedictus, Memorial Acclamation, Great Amen, and Agnus Dei is from Schubert's Deutsche-Messe. I can hear harmonies being sung by the choir. My home parish back in Oklahoma used to sing this setting (at least for the Sanctus) all the time, but I never really liked it, thinking it was too simplistic and childlike. The television feed musical miking is a lot better in New York than it was in Washington, picking up good choral sound and full, rich organ sound; in Washington, I didn't hear much more than the melody lines and a thin electroniccy organ.

It's communion time. This is a long Mass. Washington was over in an hour and a half; it's already been two hours since they started at 2:30 and they've just started communion for 60,000 people. I wonder if they'll have the cute little yellow umbrellas to mark the communion stations like they used in D.C.? I think the Holy Father is getting tired after his big American Tour. I heard him say a lot of "ze" instead of "the," "undt" instead of "and," and his voice seemed to waiver a bit here and there. Communion music (that I can hear over the chattering announcers) includes Palestrina's Sicut Cervus and that 20th century hymn "This Is the Feast of Victory for Our God" but I can't remember the composer....Dirksen? Hillert? I think it was a National Cathedral (Episcopal) organist-choirmaster....called Festival Song or Festival Canticle or something like that. There was some Renaissance polyphonic stuff, but I couldn't hear enough to recognize it. Hmm. Marcello Giordani from the Metropolitan Opera is singing something, but I can't hear over the announcers chatting to hear what it is. Oh, there it is....it's "Panis Angelicus," like Domingo sang Thursday. I wonder if Giordani will get to kiss the Holy Father's ring? Ick, they moved a mike right over a second violin and it's picking up and sticking out. Nope, Giordani didn't get to kiss the ring. Idiots in the congregation keep trying to start up more baseball park chants for the pope. Now they're playing an odd, heavy orchestral, version of the spiritual "Let Us Break Together on Our Knees." Eeeuw, now they're singing it, and it's a really obnoxious arrangement with the cantor singing and the choir singing backup. I like the cantor's baritone voice.....and you very seldom hear me (a baritone cantor) say that about another male cantor. LOL

It's over....sounds like the closing hymn is an arrangement of the Beethoven Hymn to Joy with "Joyful, joyful we adore thee" words. Hard to hear over the ballpark cheers and the announcers "recapping" the Mass. I don't think the congregation is singing, they are just cheering. LOL....the priests in the congregation are like a bunch of teenaged girls at a rock concert falling all over themselves to touch the pope and maybe even kiss his ring as the Holy Father processes out.

You know, I think we need to design some new liturgical vestments for the Secret Service to wear when they are walking around a pontiff.

Alright, it's 4:46 p.m., and Benedict has left the building. Over and out.

Post-script: As a postlude, the choir and orchestra are doing the entire final movement of the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor.