John Janaro's Blog, page 197
January 3, 2018
Chant East and West (My Christmas/Epiphany Music, Part 4)

As I have said before, I find beauty in music in diverse and analogous senses, and I appreciate—in the right place, at the right time—good contemporary popular music, jazz, folk and roots music from all over the world, classical music, vocal and instrumental music of all kinds, electronic music, blues and gospel music, etc. All of these ways of crafting sound have their measure of aesthetic excellence, and in their attainment of beauty they are also good and therefore can be edifying.
Some of these forms can be constructed and presented in ways conducive to prayer, and in the appropriate circumstances can contribute to youth gatherings, pilgrimages, prayer meetings, and even parts of the liturgy. It is very moving to see and hear this done well, in a fitting manner, by artists who are themselves people of deep faith and prayer. Unfortunately, it is much more common to find it done badly, carelessly, disjointed from its context. Instead of fostering prayer, it becomes distracting, intrusive, or annoying.
The Lord deserves our best, and there are certainly different ways we can offer that to him in our songs.
But the great ancient chants have endured as liturgical worship music down the centuries for a reason. In them sensible sound draws our complex humanity into simplicity and "silence," and stirs the apex of the soul to prepare us to encounter God. These chants have come forth from prayer and lead back to prayer. They are the fruit of profound communion with God, self-offering, and suffering. They are, so to speak, icons written with sound.
Even in chant, however, there is the concreteness of human expression marked by the history of the great liturgical traditions and the cultures and peoples among whom they arose, our ancestors who continue to be alive within the Communion of Saints.
I can only touch very briefly on these excerpts, and then allow the music to "speak" for itself.
Most familiar to me, of course, is the chant that holds preeminence in the Roman Rite, the most widely used ancient chant of the "Western" liturgical tradition, the Gregorian chant. Pope Saint Gregory the Great (c. 540-604) is the patron of the Roman liturgy.
The traditional Western celebration of the Epiphany focuses on the arrival of the "Magi" from the East to present gifts to the newborn King (as narrated in the beginning of chapter 2 of Matthew's gospel). In these visitors, we can see a symbol of all the nations of the earth, and thus the nations are represented as "present" at the beginning of Christ's coming into the world.
Listen here to the noble simplicity of Gregorian chant in this recorded (and visual) presentation of the Vidimus Stellam, the Gospel Acclamation that immediately precedes the reading (or chanting) of the Gospel for the Mass of the Epiphany in the Roman Rite: "Alleluia. We have seen his star in the East, and we have come with our gifts, to adore the Lord."
Take a moment to lift up your mind and heart to God. We are not in a hurry.
Take some time.
We can perceive in this chant something of the spirit of the monastic life in its gentle rhythm, great peace, interior focus, and the seeking of God and the finding of him in adoration and worship. For well over a millennium and still today, monasteries have prayed using Gregorian chant in different degrees, manners, and adaptations.
But it's not only for monasteries.
The verse above, of course, is primarily intended for a single voice (the cantor), and many chants in public Mass settings are sung by a small, trained choir. Nevertheless much Gregorian chant (especially chant of the basic prayers of the Roman liturgy) is accessible to congregational singing, with a little pastoral initiative, attention, and effort. It's an effort worth making.
Meanwhile, although the Western liturgical tradition is the most widely diffused throughout the world, it is not the only tradition. Let us take time to look to the East.
The Byzantine liturgical tradition has Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) as its primary patron. The high point of the Christmas season in the Byzantine tradition is the celebration of the Theophany on January 6th (which corresponds to the Western traditional feast of "The Baptism of the Lord" on the Sunday following January 6th).
Here the focus is entirely on Christ's baptism in the Jordan river as a corollary event to his birth. The revelation of the Trinity in the Spirit descending in the appearance of a dove, the Father's voice, and the flesh of the Word plunged into the river radically "consecrates" all the waters of the world and establishes the foundation for the sacrament of baptism, the new birth of the Christian in Christ.
Byzantine chant has great solemnity and also various styles, as we shall hear by way of a small example. First, here is the "Theophany Hymn" chanted in Greek: All you that in Christ have been baptized have put on Christ, Alleluia. This beautiful hymn is accompanied in this video by a fine visual presentation of different icons. Listen and watch here:
Take some silent time if you wish.
When the Byzantine tradition moved beyond the Greek speaking Eastern Roman Empire later in the first millennium, it both shaped and was shaped by the distinctive peoples and languages of the Slavic world. A different style emerged within the Byzantine rite, expressed in a different language that can still be heard today, that has become known as Church Slavonic.
This video presents a different verse from the same Byzantine liturgy for the feast of the Theophany, in a different language (though here I think it is Russian rather than Church Slavonic). Listen to the very distinctive beautiful style of the old Slavonic chant:
What tremendous music this is.
I'm putting these various links here, but please take your time. Come back to these links whenever you want, or go on YouTube to listen to more, or take a course on sacred music, join your parish choir, or go on a retreat, go pray.
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Welcome back.
We're going to take a turn to something very different in sound and language from what we have heard in the Latin, Greek, and Slavic traditions. Ironically, however, this ancient chant may be closer to the musical style and language of Jesus himself and his first apostles and disciples.
The Copic liturgical tradition is one of the ancient Semitic traditions that endures to this day, from the church of Alexandria in Egypt which has Saint Mark the Evangelist as its patron. Here again, we are celebrating the Epiphany, in a style and language that sounds like Arabic but is in fact the language that predates the Muslim conquest of Egypt and the Middle East. The chant of Psalm 150 is fittingly accompanied by cymbals (see 150:5).
The sacred music of the "ancient Near East" is also the sacred music of people today who worship Christ under dangerous circumstances, under the constant threat of violence. This is the song and music of people who have very recently shed their blood in the name of Jesus, and who will courageously face that danger again this weekend when they gather to celebrate Epiphany and sing this song:
So we have these profound "sonic icons" through which our ears are opened and our hearts lifted to the glory of God and his angels and all the saints. Music in these modes was handed down through the centuries, modified only with the greatest care.
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But then what happened?
[Permit me to have a bit of "fun" here?
Published on January 03, 2018 20:53
January 2, 2018
January 1, 2018
Jesus Embraces Each One of Us
I would like to begin the year 2018 and mark the Octave of Christmas Week and the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God with some words from the man whose ministry did so much to shape my own faith and my adherence to Jesus in the Church.
Jesus embraces each one of us with the Father's love. By taking our nature, Jesus enters into the history of each human being.
"We thank you, eternal Father, for the Motherhood of the Virgin Mary, who under the protection of Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, brought your Son into the world, in utter poverty. 'He came to his own home, and his own people received him not' (John 1:11).
"And yet, he received all of us from his very birth and embraced each one of us with the eternal love of the Father, with the love that saves man, that raises the human conscience from sin. In him we have reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins.
"We thank you heavenly Father, for the child laid in a manger: in him 'the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior appeared' (Titus 3:4). We thank you, eternal Father, for this love, which comes down like a frail infant into the history of each human being.
"We thank you, because, though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).
"Impel individuals and peoples to break down the wall of selfishness, of arrogance and hate, in order to open themselves to fraternal respect for all human beings, near or far, because they are people, brothers and sisters in Christ. Induce all individuals to offer the help necessary for those in need, to renew their own hearts in the grace of Christ the Redeemer."
~John Paul II, Message at St Peter’s Basilica, December 25, 1983
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Painting is detail from Nativity, William Congdon

"We thank you, eternal Father, for the Motherhood of the Virgin Mary, who under the protection of Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, brought your Son into the world, in utter poverty. 'He came to his own home, and his own people received him not' (John 1:11).
"And yet, he received all of us from his very birth and embraced each one of us with the eternal love of the Father, with the love that saves man, that raises the human conscience from sin. In him we have reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins.
"We thank you heavenly Father, for the child laid in a manger: in him 'the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior appeared' (Titus 3:4). We thank you, eternal Father, for this love, which comes down like a frail infant into the history of each human being.
"We thank you, because, though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9).
"Impel individuals and peoples to break down the wall of selfishness, of arrogance and hate, in order to open themselves to fraternal respect for all human beings, near or far, because they are people, brothers and sisters in Christ. Induce all individuals to offer the help necessary for those in need, to renew their own hearts in the grace of Christ the Redeemer."
~John Paul II, Message at St Peter’s Basilica, December 25, 1983
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Published on January 01, 2018 20:34
December 31, 2017
The Darkness is Passing
Published on December 31, 2017 17:50
December 30, 2017
Christmas on New Media (My Christmas Music, Part 3)
I'm still enjoying my Christmas music this week; indeed I'll keep it up through the "Twelve Days" which bring us to the Epiphany, the celebration of the arrival of the "Magi" from "the East."
In this post I want to just indicate and introduce you to a few of the very talented and dedicated people who make music on YouTube. Here I am referring not to mainstream label artists who post their music (though it's great that good artists do so).
I am referring to (usually independent) artists who use YouTube as a "place" where they really "do" their music. This often includes taking advantage of the possibilities offered by an audiovisual medium, as you will see here. These artists each deserve their own post (and I intend to write more about them and others). Today, I am just going to offer a few Christmas songs.
I do want to emphasize that the artists here, and others like them, are not amateurs, though some of them started out that way, and grew over the past decade along with the huge development and unprecedented access to high quality audiovisual media. Many of them are still very young. These "jewels" are not always easy to find in the rough and chaotic world of YouTube, where anybody can post videos.
I have been paying close attention to this media platform for about seven years, but even though I keep my eyes and ears open for good music, there are many outstanding performers that I have not found, or that I know very little about. YouTube is a vast and ever-changing realm. Often the best we can hope to do is to find our own niche where there is music we enjoy, and then expand our horizons a bit by trying some new things.
Let me show you a few examples of some good YouTube music artists that I know, in the context of their Christmas music.
Tyler Ward. This talented young man has been a protagonist on YouTube for a long time. He does covers and original songs, and also tries to bring other YouTubers greater recognition. He coordinated a YouTube Christmas "Show" in 2014 with many other artists to raise money for charity. Here is Tyler singing Silent Night in a subdued acoustic presentation in his "pop-country" style:
Cimorelli. Here are six girls who have been singing covers and also their own songs on YouTube for nine years. They are also a YouTube star story, who began in their living room and now have nearly four million subscribers from all over the world and have been viewed over a billion times. We will have to tell more of their story another time.
Oh, did I mention they are sisters? They're all sisters. Six sisters. All from the same mother and father. Oh, and there are five brothers too. That's 11 kids in the Cimorelli family. Well, some of them are grownups by now.
They often do a very interesting pop a-cappella style, with the girls trading off different sections of the lead singing role. They are all fine singers and blend very well together.
"But wait," you say, "who the heck is this family with 11 kids?" It's a big wacky, hilarious Catholic family! I'm sure some of you who are reading this blog know families like them. (Some of you are families like them!)
The Cimorelli sisters are an excellent and admirable group of kids and young people. Still—notwithstanding their serious demeanor in this recent, very lovely cover of Carol of the Bells—they are also a hoot! They are funny, full of laughter, and have a fascinating interpersonal dynamic. They are very hip with teenage girl stuff and definitely boy-crazy (though with clear boundaries, which they do not hide). They are also willing to talk about problems that kids go through, and speak about their own experiences, vulnerability, and the lessons they have learned.
But more about Cimorelli "next year." Listen to this beautiful rendition of Carol of the Bells:
Just to give you a sense of their sillier side, check out this cover too, of Santa Claus is Coming to Town:
Jonatan Narvaez with Veronica Sanfilippo. YouTube is really bringing together the international music scene, or rather, it allows local music scenes to remain local while also being connected with others all over the world. Singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Jonatan Narvaez of Buenos Aires, Argentina brings outstanding young talent from around the region to his YouTube channel, working with them and giving them a place to develop their singing and performance art and producing the highest quality music videos.
I will be writing more about Jonatan and this very special Hispanic musical community. Here we present an original Christmas song, Ha Traido la Esperanza, beautifully sung by the highly talented young artist Veronica Sanfilippo:
Peter Hollens and Mike Tompkins. When it comes to the audiovisual art of being a one person a-cappella choir, Peter Hollens is brilliant in so many ways. Peter has built a solid following on YouTube and finances his unique music performances through Patreon, one of several crowdfunding platforms specially dedicated to building community between artists and their "fans"—the latter being in fact actively engaged in a creative collaboration. He also seeks to help other artists by working with them on his platform.
On this cover of the classic Little Drummer Boy, Peter Hollens joins forces with another a-cappella YouTube star. Mike Tompkins is a one person band, who specializes in vocalizing a large variety of rhythmic and instrumental sounds in addition to singing. Here are the two of them presenting a rousing and polished rendition of the rumpa-pum-pum:

I am referring to (usually independent) artists who use YouTube as a "place" where they really "do" their music. This often includes taking advantage of the possibilities offered by an audiovisual medium, as you will see here. These artists each deserve their own post (and I intend to write more about them and others). Today, I am just going to offer a few Christmas songs.
I do want to emphasize that the artists here, and others like them, are not amateurs, though some of them started out that way, and grew over the past decade along with the huge development and unprecedented access to high quality audiovisual media. Many of them are still very young. These "jewels" are not always easy to find in the rough and chaotic world of YouTube, where anybody can post videos.
I have been paying close attention to this media platform for about seven years, but even though I keep my eyes and ears open for good music, there are many outstanding performers that I have not found, or that I know very little about. YouTube is a vast and ever-changing realm. Often the best we can hope to do is to find our own niche where there is music we enjoy, and then expand our horizons a bit by trying some new things.
Let me show you a few examples of some good YouTube music artists that I know, in the context of their Christmas music.
Tyler Ward. This talented young man has been a protagonist on YouTube for a long time. He does covers and original songs, and also tries to bring other YouTubers greater recognition. He coordinated a YouTube Christmas "Show" in 2014 with many other artists to raise money for charity. Here is Tyler singing Silent Night in a subdued acoustic presentation in his "pop-country" style:
Cimorelli. Here are six girls who have been singing covers and also their own songs on YouTube for nine years. They are also a YouTube star story, who began in their living room and now have nearly four million subscribers from all over the world and have been viewed over a billion times. We will have to tell more of their story another time.
Oh, did I mention they are sisters? They're all sisters. Six sisters. All from the same mother and father. Oh, and there are five brothers too. That's 11 kids in the Cimorelli family. Well, some of them are grownups by now.
They often do a very interesting pop a-cappella style, with the girls trading off different sections of the lead singing role. They are all fine singers and blend very well together.
"But wait," you say, "who the heck is this family with 11 kids?" It's a big wacky, hilarious Catholic family! I'm sure some of you who are reading this blog know families like them. (Some of you are families like them!)
The Cimorelli sisters are an excellent and admirable group of kids and young people. Still—notwithstanding their serious demeanor in this recent, very lovely cover of Carol of the Bells—they are also a hoot! They are funny, full of laughter, and have a fascinating interpersonal dynamic. They are very hip with teenage girl stuff and definitely boy-crazy (though with clear boundaries, which they do not hide). They are also willing to talk about problems that kids go through, and speak about their own experiences, vulnerability, and the lessons they have learned.
But more about Cimorelli "next year." Listen to this beautiful rendition of Carol of the Bells:
Just to give you a sense of their sillier side, check out this cover too, of Santa Claus is Coming to Town:
Jonatan Narvaez with Veronica Sanfilippo. YouTube is really bringing together the international music scene, or rather, it allows local music scenes to remain local while also being connected with others all over the world. Singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Jonatan Narvaez of Buenos Aires, Argentina brings outstanding young talent from around the region to his YouTube channel, working with them and giving them a place to develop their singing and performance art and producing the highest quality music videos.
I will be writing more about Jonatan and this very special Hispanic musical community. Here we present an original Christmas song, Ha Traido la Esperanza, beautifully sung by the highly talented young artist Veronica Sanfilippo:
Peter Hollens and Mike Tompkins. When it comes to the audiovisual art of being a one person a-cappella choir, Peter Hollens is brilliant in so many ways. Peter has built a solid following on YouTube and finances his unique music performances through Patreon, one of several crowdfunding platforms specially dedicated to building community between artists and their "fans"—the latter being in fact actively engaged in a creative collaboration. He also seeks to help other artists by working with them on his platform.
On this cover of the classic Little Drummer Boy, Peter Hollens joins forces with another a-cappella YouTube star. Mike Tompkins is a one person band, who specializes in vocalizing a large variety of rhythmic and instrumental sounds in addition to singing. Here are the two of them presenting a rousing and polished rendition of the rumpa-pum-pum:
Published on December 30, 2017 20:42
December 29, 2017
Tis The Season For Mozart? (My Christmas Music, Part 2)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) needs little introduction. He is one of the greatest classical composers of all time. Mozart's music covers the entire 18th century European repertoire: church music, ensemble music, concertos, sonatas, symphonies, operas, and songs and dances. And much of it has a joyful exuberance which is the result of the intersection of great intuition and technical perfection.
I fell in love with Mozart's music when I was 11 years old. I was old enough to borrow vinyl records from the library for two weeks at a time and wear them out with listening. He inspired me to dream of becoming a classical composer, and even to try my hand at it (after all, Mozart himself began composing at the age of five).
He was a child prodigy. I was not. But it was fun trying.
Anyway, it's not hard to find Mozart's music on Christmas playlists or in choral performances during this time of year. He didn't write music specifically for Christmas, but he wrote festive music for sacred and secular contexts that is appropriate for accompanying this joyful season.
After Advent, the Gloria returns to the Latin liturgy on Christmas, and is sung throughout the week. I find the Gloria from Mozart's magnificent Mass in C major especially lovely this time of year:
Another Mozart work appropriate for enjoying at Christmas is the Motet Exsultate, Jubilate. Though it has prayer as its theme, this has been a concert piece from the beginning. It calls for the kind of vocal dexterity that really showcases the talents and skill of an operatic soprano.
Here's another thing that makes YouTube great. Pick someone awesome, like Kathleen Battle. Search on YouTube and BOOM listen to and watch a performance from 1994. Here's the first part:
Mozart also wrote music for parties. Among his German Dances is the one titled "Sleigh Ride," complete with jingling bells. If this isn't yet part of your Christmas playlist, you should really add it. Even this "light" music has that touch of the Maestro's hand, that elegance, delightful flow, perfection, and joyful quality that mark Mozart's genius and make his music so wonderful for Christmas:
Published on December 29, 2017 20:41
December 28, 2017
The Light that Leads Us

Jesus in the manger, with Mary and Joseph. The angels. The shepherds. And, in these days, the Kings are journeying to Bethlehem, with the light of a star leading them.
Christmas is a special time for children. The gift of God in Jesus Christ is reflected in the Christmas gifts, the bright decorations, the foods, the gathering together of families, and the expectation of a new year.
When we grow up, we may grow cynical. We may lose our faith. We may carry great burdens. Still, Christmas comes around every year. Even in difficult times, these days in December have a hold on us. They won't allow us to lose our sense of wonder.
But as we get older, the celebration of Christmas is more and more filled with memories that are precious and tender but also irrevocably past.
People who shaped this day for many years are no longer part of it. The present time, and (God willing) the times to come will bring fresh memories, but we become more aware of how fragile they are.
It is not so much that we learn to take nothing for granted. Rather, we learn that everything is, truly, granted. Everything is a gift. We pass through life, through time and pain and aching loss. Past memories and present suffering can cause us to weep, and we learn how poor we are in front of one another.
All of our gifts and all the efforts of our love fall short, and we cannot calm one another's restlessness.
Still our present moments and our memories have a warm glow like garland when we remember that they reflect the light that is leading us home.

Published on December 28, 2017 19:05
December 27, 2017
A Christina Grimmie Christmas (My Christmas Music, Part 1)

Christina Grimmie sang various traditional and contemporary popular Christmas songs that are still accessible on YouTube. Even though these are not necessarily the best (and certainly not the funniest) of her videos, these songs are marked in a particular way; they are all arranged by her, performed on her electronic piano, and sung by her unique, versatile, powerful soul-stirring voice—an inimitable voice that no longer sings on this earth. It was silenced much too soon.
What we do have, musically, is a kind of "archive" unknown to previous generations: an archive of publicly accessible videos that are as fresh as the day they were made.
Christina sings in what is broadly termed a rhythm-and-blues vocal style. It's the style often used by pop singers today. Some of my readers probably don't like this singing style, and I can understand that. Everyone has different tastes. I'm not particularly a fan of this style myself, unless it's done really, really well.
Christina Grimmie did it really, really well.
I'm going to link a few Christmas song videos here. The sound quality of these particular videos varies depending on the circumstances in which they were made. Listen if you wish, or jump off into YouTube and explore others.
As I've said before, it's worth it to "get to know" this extraordinarily talented, big-hearted, generous but also down-to-earth, sweet, fun-loving, goofy, accessible and in so many ways "ordinary" girl. Christina Grimmie lived something extraordinary even within the most ordinary features of her life. This may not be apparent at first, but the precious multidimensional and multimedia archive of her last seven years in this world conveys a powerful impression that grows over time.
She doesn't come across as what we conventionally think of as a "saint" or "holy person" (and she certainly had ordinary struggles and made plenty of ordinary mistakes). She does exhibit a striking but also familiar kind of goodness; she comes across as someone you would want your daughters to be friends with. And eventually you do really begin to see even more; you start to recognize how her ordinary human ways were suffused with a passion and a tenderness, a contagious joy and an affirmation of life that even now, in the legacy of her videos, proves itself greater than the ultimate weapons of violence.
We need witnesses like her in our poor world. It's not surprising that Christina Grimmie fits in so well with Christmas, and not just for her music.
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Returning to the subject of music, let's have some music!
Published on December 27, 2017 18:37
December 26, 2017
Pope Francis: To Live in Hope is to Live in Light

"What does it mean to be Christians?
It means to look at the light,to continue having faith in the light,even when the world is obscured by night and darkness.
"Christians are not free from darkness,external and also internal.They don’t live outside this world,but thanks to the grace of Christreceived through the rite of Baptism,they are men and women who are 'oriented':they don’t believe in darkness, but in the light of the day,they don’t fall prey to the night,but they wait for the light of the day;they are not defeated by death,but they are eager to be resurrected;they don’t bend to evil,because they trust into the infinite possibilities of good.
"And this is our Christian hope,the salvation given to us by Christ thanks to his lightwhich is able to save us from darkness.We are the ones who believe that God is the Father:this is the light!
We believe that every affection, every friendship,every good desire, every love,even the smallest and neglected ones,one day will find their realization in God:this is the strength that compels usto embrace with enthusiasm our daily life;this is our hope:to live in hope is to live in light!"
~Pope Francis
Published on December 26, 2017 16:22
December 25, 2017
Merry Christmas 2017
Merry Christmas from the Janaro family!
The kids have grown a lot since this blog started nearly seven years ago. Left to right: Teresa (15), Lucia (17), Eileen (Mom), John (Dad), John Paul (20), Agnese (19) and in front of her Mom and Dad, Josefina (11).
Jesus Christ our Savior is born. Glory to Him!
The kids have grown a lot since this blog started nearly seven years ago. Left to right: Teresa (15), Lucia (17), Eileen (Mom), John (Dad), John Paul (20), Agnese (19) and in front of her Mom and Dad, Josefina (11).
Jesus Christ our Savior is born. Glory to Him!

Published on December 25, 2017 10:21