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Gate of Heaven
is a collection of original post-Conciliar Catholic hymnody in the Roman and
Eastern Catholic tradition. The recorded music comprising Gate of Heaven
presently consists of three CDs, Parts I, II and III. An Accompaniment
Edition and Melody (pew) edition of the Gate of Heaven collection
are available through the
catalog,
where hymncards of specific individual hymns may also be accessed.
Gate of Heaven,
Part I: Gate
of Heaven, the title of which acknowledges the first hymn
written by the composer, and by which the entire collection of hymnody is
named, consists of fifteen hymns. Besides Gate of Heaven, other hymnody
includes O Theotokos; the Hymn to Saint Michael the Archangel; the Hymn
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; and, with text based on Pope John Paul’s
Redemptoris Mater, the hymn Mother of the Redeemer. Among the
psalms are I Thirst for You (Psalm 42); A Heart Contrite (Psalm
51); and, with music suggestive of traditional Russian liturgical
music, Miserere (Psalm 51). A Hymn to the Mother of Jesus
is featured, as well as Patroness (of our United States), Ave
Maria (Ora pro Nobis), a Hymn to Mary, Mother and This Is
My Body, based on John 10.
Gate of Heaven,
Part II:
Patron of the Universal Church also consists of fifteen
hymns. The opening hymn is a Hymn to Saint Joseph, followed by
Mary, Mother of the Church, a Magnificat, People of God, and a
rendering of the ancient Alma Redemptoris Mater, Loving Mother
of the Redeemer. You Alone is based on Psalm 16, with The
Lord is My Light (Psalm 27), If I Could Take the Wings of the Dawn
(Psalm 138), and Know that the Lord is God (Psalm 99) among
the featured psalmody. Rejoice, O Mary, Queen of Heaven uses text
drawn from Pope John II’s Redemptoris Mater, and People of God
is reflective of Lumen Gentium, one of the documents promulgated by
the Second Vatican Council.
Gate of Heaven,
Part III:
Mary, Mother of the Eucharist features the title hymn and
eleven other hymns. To the Immaculata is a hymn in honor of Saint
Maximilian Kolbe, and Lead, Kindly Light renders a musical setting
of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman’s youthful poem of the same
title. Hymn to the Holy Name of Jesus (Parts I and II), and
Christ, Our Only Way, the refrain of which sings, “O Jesus, Son of the
Living God, have mercy on us!” use texts directly drawn from the ninth
century Akathistos Hymn of the Eastern Byzantine Church. The text of
Jesus, the Lord of Life is based on the composer’s reflections, while
she was expecting twin boys, on the fetal life of Jesus Christ; and the
Hymn to the Immaculate Conception is based on an anonymous translation
of the text by the Franciscan St. Anthony Mary Fasani. Additionally, the
hymn entitled Our Lady of the Rosary is based on the text written
by Eurena of Sirena.
The role of Church music
as a source of inspiration, guidance and Catholic teaching has been lost for
many of the Catholic faithful. Confused by the general post-Conciliar
abandonment of Tradition in their parishes; of reverence for the Sacred; and
honest musical worship of God, especially in His Presence in the Eucharist,
our people have long hungered for appropriate and truly Sacred - - truly
Catholic - - hymnody in their Churches.
Although Gate of Heaven is undeniably contemporary in style
and influence, it draws greatly from the Gregorian chant tradition,
especially through its oftentimes linear, chant-like movement. The ancient
modes oftentimes provide its melodic basis and harmonic structure.
Often employing ancient,
venerable texts drawn from the common patrimony of both the Eastern
(Byzantine) and Western (Roman, or Latin) rites, the texts of
Gate of Heaven reflect Pope John Paul II’s references to “the
new flowering, the result of the Council, of a new expression of Catholic
truth in a new theological language.”
The poetic and theological prose gifted the Church and the
world through the writings of the saintly Pope John Paul II evince his
hallowed and inspired reflections about the Redemptive Mystery in Time.
The centrality of the Theotokos
, Mother of the Redeemer and our Mother, in the life and thought of our
former Pontiff provides rich and unique contributions to the treasury of
Roman/Byzantine textual sources.
Some of the hymns found in Gate of Heaven
incorporate original text material by the composer, as in
To the Immaculata
,
a hymn in honor of Saint Maximilian Kolbe. Upon careful examination it
becomes evident that all the new texts employed in Gate of Heaven
manifest an abundance of Catholic thought, tradition, and belief: the
unparalleled Catholic ethos, as manifest in the interior life of
the Church.
Oftentimes the music of Gate of Heaven
is metrical, and, necessarily being a creative product of our own times
and culture, reflects contemporaneity of influence. However, much of the
music is clearly reflective of the Gregorian chant tradition, especially
through its linear, chant-like melody as in Hymn to the Immaculate
Conception
.
The hymn texts of
Gate of Heaven are also notable for their frequent use
of well-loved liturgical texts such as the Litany of the Sacred Heart in
Hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
,
and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as in Gate of Heaven
.
From the West, the text written by Eustace of Sirena
in
the 17th century is musically rendered in Our Lady of the Rosary
.
Whereas, from the East, both the Hymn to the Holy Name of Jesus, Parts I
and II, and Christ, Our Only Way provide music settings to
the translation of the anonymous 9th century Akathistos Hymn to the
Holy Name of Jesus, rendered masterfully by the late Melkite Joseph
Archbishop Raya (1916-2005), former Metropolitan of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth,
and All Galilee (Requiescat in pace.)
Saint Joseph is honored under his title as the Patron of
the Universal Church
;
and Saint Michael the Archangel is also honored through Pope Leo XIII’s
prayer for the Universal Church that Saint Michael Defend us in battle
and be our defense against the malice of the enemy
.
Profound contrition for our own sins, and a plea for God’s mercy upon all
errant members of the Church and the world are expressed in Miserere
(Psalm 51)
,
a hymn musically suggesting traditional Russian Catholic hymnody.
Many hymns of
Gate of Heaven are devoted to the honor of Mary, the Mother of
God, as in Ave Maria ( . . . Honored Daughter of our Race)
with its joyous Ora pro nobis
;
Mary, Mother of the Church; and Patroness (of Our United
States)
.
Pope John Paul’s poetic reflections upon Mary and her central role in
Salvation History as found in Redemptoris Mater are celebrated in
Mother of the Redeemer (Ave Redemptoris Mater)
and elsewhere.
Additionally, the Saints are honored through the occasional
use of texts found in their own writings, such as those of Saint Faustina
(in her Diary), Maximilian Kolbe, St. John of the Cross (in his poetry); and
the Venerable John Cardinal Newman, as in his youthful, pre-conversion poem,
Lead, Kindly Light. . . . ”
Reflecting on the unique incarnational Mysteries of
Catholicism, the texts of Gate of Heaven
acknowledge the Sanctity of Life
, the
blessedness of children, and the holiness of family life. Of Jesus, the
Lord of Life
,
the Apostle for Life, Father Paul B. Marx, says,
“This great hymn,
Jesus, the Lord of Life, fills a real need in our Catholic churches
today, where the music and hymnody most often seem far away from the
promotion of the Sanctity of Life.”
As in Jesus, the Lord
of Life, many hymns of Gate of Heaven are
profoundly didactic in nature, as in Mystical Rose
and Protectress of Christendom
. Not
only is the rich Catholic ethos manifest throughout, but the texts
are notably doctrinal. While set to strong, well-structured and
truly musical melodies, Gate of Heaven
persuasively expresses Catholic faith and belief. It fulfills Catholic
hymnody’s function to capture the popular imagination, to
instruct and inspire (the old, as well as the young and not so young),
and to make manifest to the faithful the highest spiritual truths.
Finally, the psalms, the contemplative prayer of the Church,
are clothed in winning yet un-gimmicky grace and profoundity; the music
rendering its role as servant of the ancient text, not its master.
The hymnody of
Gate of Heaven fulfills the hopefilled observation of
the late Monsignor Richard J. Schuler (1916-2006 - - Requiescat in pace)
that “. . . a new expression of Catholic truth in a new theological
language is coming from the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. Signs of a new
flowering, the results of the Council, are beginning to be apparent, even
though many theologians continue to hold to the errors of modernism that
surfaced just after the Council. . . As a new wind is blowing in theological
expression, so in liturgy and church music. . . “
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