FROM FATHER WOOD: A CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL SANTIAGO CASTELLANOS

Daniel Santiago Castellanos’s newly composed Miss Brevis received its premiere performance here at Saint Mary’s on the Day of Pentecost, May 28, 2023. Daniel is a composer, vocalist, and pianist based in New Jersey. His piece for mezzo-soprano and piano, Death is nothing at all, won first prize at the 2019 NYC songSLAM competition. Ensembles that have performed his music include the Semiosis Quartet, JACK Quartet, The Orchestra Now (TŌN), Da Capo Ensemble, and The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. He received two bachelor’s degrees from Bard College Conservatory of Music and received a master’s degree in music composition from the Mannes School of Music in May 2023. Daniel has been a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s since the fall of 2018. For more information you are invited to visit his website.

SW (Fr. Wood): First, Danny, let me say how amazing it was to hear your Mass when it premiered a few Sundays ago at Saint Mary’s. It left me speechless—it was gorgeous, challenging, familiar yet strange, and it led us directly into prayer, which is what a Mass setting is supposed to do! In writing it, were there particular influences you wanted to bring to bear?

DC: First of all, thanks! I wanted to write a Mass setting that could fulfill a couple of things: One, to reflect the influence of the space we were in—the smoke and the way the light plays with the smoke in the church. How can I evoke the special transcendence of Saint Mary’s space? And there’s the technical aspect of influences from all the music we sing here—all the plainsong and the renaissance settings I love. Little cadences are peppered in that are nods to that music, so it’s “familiar” for a reason! There are cadences and flows of a Mass I wanted to follow, but at the same time I wanted to blend it with my own emerging compositional voice and how I think of harmony and form. The pieces mix plainsong and renaissance cadences with my own style.

SW: Speaking of “style,” you’ve been singing sacred music for a long time—as a boy at the Saint Thomas Choir School and with us at Saint Mary’s for five years. How has singing all that sacred music affected you personally and as a composer?

DC: There are ways Saint Thomas affects me today that I’m still trying to understand. That place was so formative for me—I was there from 2004–09, back when John Scott was in his first year as Choirmaster. That definitely influences this Mass and even aspects of my other music. There’s a language of harmony in a lot of my music, and the DNA for that comes from the Anglican choral repertoire we would sing five times a week there. My first compositions were for Saint Thomas’, and they still perform a piece I wrote there (Eternal Light, a setting of a poem by Alcuin of York) sometimes. My language has changed, but I definitely was thinking back to my time at Saint Thomas’ when writing this piece.

SW: Do you think that language, that DNA, gets in us, the people listening to these beautiful settings, when the music washes over us Sunday after Sunday?

DC: In short, yes, I think it does! My spirituality has evolved over the years, and one of the ways I feel closest and most spiritual is through singing, hearing music. Singing psalms, hymns, all the pieces we sing—there’s an element that I’m connecting to something greater than myself. Who was it that said, “Singing is like praying twice”?

SW: I think it may have been Saint Augustine—“He who sings prays twice.”

DC: You can sing about anything, but when you’re singing sacred texts there’s an element where your brain is engrained in the music and you’re absorbing something that maybe can’t be put into words. Definitely in writing this [Mass] I was thinking of music that made me feel spiritually connected as a kid.

SW: You talked about family—I see from your website that you’ve written a new piece inspired by your relationship with your abuelos, you grandparents, and the food they cooked for you. How do feelings like nostalgia, memories of childhood and family, affect the process of composition for you? 

DC: That was my first piece in grad school—I need to update my website because I’ve written a couple of pieces since! Revoltillo is similar to this Mass in that I am connecting to my childhood memories. That piece is about my Cuban grandparents and the food they would cook for me. The title is the name of a breakfast sandwich that’s very filling, and my grandpa would cook me that before I would come into the city to sing at Saint Mary’s, and I could never finish it because he put so much stuff in it! It’s an homage to them. It’s bittersweet because my grandma has dementia and has probably forgotten all of her recipes. When I was writing the piece, she would still cook for me but mix up some of the recipes, so I’m reckoning with the loss of things that are important to me, my culture, my family, and my own personal memories. I think a lot of my pieces focus on memory.

SW: Performing sacred music often means singing pieces that are centuries old—written in a different time, from a different context, for a different world. Your work focuses on memory and bridging that gap. Are there challenges and joys of writing in that genre today?

DC: In my little niche genre, and in sacred music as a whole, there’s a huge sprawling canon of music to listen back to when you’re writing. Every composer of chamber music, sacred music, choral music asks how much dialogue you want to have with that canon. It got very existential for me right after leaving college thinking “Is this even good? Should I be distancing myself from problematic elements in these canons?” But it’s a language I learned over so many years, and I can’t help but converse with earlier composers and the tradition. I’d been wanting to write a Mass setting for a while, and one thing that was difficult is that there have been so many settings! How can I write this piece to stay fresh to me and carry meaning and not just be repeating the same prayer—even though it is all the same prayers!—but in a way that’s inviting and new? I decided to just write it and not worry about all that, and the influences will fall where they come.

SW: In the church world, some call that “traditioned innovation”—pulling from the canon, the tradition, and making it your own. You’re not creating out of whole cloth. In a way it’s almost like hip-hop!

DC: Yeah, “sampling”—I literally did sample certain cadences. There are parts in the Mass I guess you could call my version of sampling! It’s re-contextualizing it in a way that feels more honest to me.

SW: One of our core convictions here at Saint Mary's is that we can facilitate divine encounters when we "deploy beauty" into midtown and the rest of New York. Our music is as good as you'll find in the city, our architecture is sublime, we host concerts and art shows. What’s it like to be part of our amazing choir, the team that’s up there putting beauty out into the world every single week? 

DC: That’s both an easy question and a difficult question! Sometimes when you’re performing and participating in the liturgy in the choir, you’re so focused on getting every note right and the phrasing and the sound, that you almost forget what we’re singing is meaningful and beautiful to everybody out there. The nitty-gritty—the mistakes and the good parts—the overall thing is the beauty that we’re creating. Sometimes I have to remind myself this is music I’ve always loved. The space, too—the space at Saint Mary’s is gorgeous. [Substitute singers] come in the choir for the first time and take out their phones and take a picture of the ceiling—sometimes mid-singing! It’s so beautiful. My first time walking into Saint Mary’s, I was a kid at St. Thomas’ and I remember how antithetical to everything about Times Square Saint Mary’s is! It’s nice being in a space that’s so static and serene, a place you can pause and pray and put all the insanity of the world behind you. That’s a very special thing Saint Mary’s uniquely has in such a nutty city otherwise.

SW: Your family were here that day. What did they have to say?

DC: My mom was the only person who couldn’t make it, but all my siblings were there. They were super happy. They hadn’t been to hear my music in a while. They were happy to sing along with the hymns and pray too. My family’s Catholic, so there’s a lot of familiarity between the Anglo-Catholic service at Saint Mary’s and the Roman Catholic Mass. One thing I’ve always appreciated is how Anglo-Catholics really keep the ritual stronger even than some Roman Catholic Masses where they try to get through as fast as possible.

SW: Anything I haven’t asked that you wish I had?

DC: Well, I threw all these bells and whistles in the last string quartet I composed. But here I was trying to write a piece authentic to myself but also that wasn’t too difficult. The singers get the score a week before starting rehearsal, but it’s a whole different thing singing with the other parts and trying to get it coordinated. We spend from 9:00 AM until like ten minutes before the service rehearsing, and these singers are amazing to be able to put everything together so fast and still make it sound beautiful. I’m grateful to them for having performed it—and they nailed it, too.

SW: Well, on behalf of Saint Mary’s, thank you both for this Mass and for nailing it every week when you lead us in prayer.

DC: It’s been great being part of Saint Mary’s for five years now. It’s the most constant thing I’ve had over that time in New York, and I’m grateful to be part of this community.

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

We pray for the sick, for those in any need or trouble, and for all those who have asked us for our prayers. We pray for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries this week; for those who are traveling; for the unemployed and for those seeking work; for the incarcerated and for those recently released from prison; for those struggling with depression, anxiety, or addiction; and for those living amid violence, or with drought, storm, inclement weather, flood, fire, or earthquake.

We pray for peace throughout the world, and especially for the people of the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar.

We pray for reconciliation among the churches and people of the Anglican Communion.

We pray for John, Humberto, and Joan, who are gravely ill, and for José,  Joyce, June, Carl, Cooki, Steven, Sharon, Barbara, Bruce, Robert, Theo, Carlos, Christopher, Daniel, Liduvina, Richard, Chuck, Alexandra, Brendon, Carmen, Susan, Paris, Charlotte, Chelsey, Keith, Jennifer, Harka, Gigi, Julie, Carole, Suzanne, Greta, Quincy, Ava Grace, Phyllis, Jim, Abe, Bob, Gypsy, Hardy, Randy, and Margaret; David, Geoffrey, Michael, Thomas, and William, religious; and Allan and Stephen, priests.

We pray for the repose of the souls of those whose year’s mind falls on July 9: Mary Minturn Trask (1897); William Reutcliffe (1905); Blanche Evelyn Preene (1991).

IN THIS TRANSITORY LIFE

We learned recently that Stephen A. Rumpf died in New York on June 3, 2023. Stephen was an accomplished organist and a good friend of Saint Mary’s. He played several services for us when Dr. Hurd was out of town, including Wednesday Sung Masses and Sunday Solemn Masses. He also played feast-day recitals for us on several occasions. Stephen was a friend and colleague of David Hurd’s and a friend and neighbor of parishioners, Brenda and Randy Morgan. Stephen was also a faithful Mason. He was a life member and former master of Kane Lodge No. 454 F. & A. He was also appointed grand organist of the Grand Lodge in 2010. The Grand Lodge of New York is the largest and oldest independent organization of Freemasons in the United States.

Please keep Stephen, his family and friends, and all who mourn in your prayers.

THIS WEEK AT SAINT MARY’S

Our regular daily liturgical schedule, Monday through Friday, is Morning Prayer 8:00 AM, Mass 12:10 PM, and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM. Holy Hour is offered on Wednesday at 11:00 AM and Thursday’s Mass includes anointing and prayers for healing. On Saturdays, Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM and Evening Prayer is prayed at 5:00 PM. On the third Saturday of each month, a Requiem Mass is celebrated at 12:10 PM in the Mercy Chapel. On Sundays, Solemn Mass is offered at 11:00 AM and Evening Prayer at 5:00 PM.

Friday, July 7, 5:30–6:45 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

Sunday, July 9, The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. Summer schedule. Solemn Mass 11:00 AM. A cantor will assist the congregation’s worship. The readings are Zechariah 9:9–12; Psalm 145:8–14; Romans 7:21–8:6; Matthew 11:20–30. Father Wood is the preacher.

Tuesday, July 11, Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, c. 540.

Wednesday, July 12, 11:00 AM, Holy Hour. A time for silent prayer in the Lady Chapel in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.

Friday, July 14, 5:30–6:45 PM, The Centering Prayer Group meets in Saint Benedict’s Study.

Saturday, July 15, Monthly Requiem in the Mercy Chapel (Bonaventure, Bishop and Friar, 1274).

LIFE AT SAINT MARY’S: NEWS & NOTICES (AND REQUESTS FOR HELP)

Our senior sexton, Mr. Harka Gurung has stepped down from his position after working at Saint Mary’s for nearly ten years. His reliable dedication to his work—and the church—is greatly appreciated, and we would like to acknowledge Harka and his many contributions to our common life here. We will be honoring him at the coffee hour following Solemn Mass on Sunday, August 6, so please plan on attending if you are able. For further information on this special celebration and fond farewell, please contact the Parish Office. — Chris Howatt

Neighbors in Need: This month’s distribution will take place on Friday, July 21, from 1:30 to 3:00 PM (volunteers work from 1:00 PM until 3:30 PM). Please contact us at neighbors@stmvnyc.org for more information about volunteering, making a donation, or about the goals, work, and methods of Neighbors in Need.

Donations for altar flowers. If you would like to make a donation to cover the cost of flowers to be placed on the high altar and at the shrines on an upcoming Sunday or holy day, there are many available dates coming up: Sunday, July 23, and 30; and, in August, the following Sundays are available: August 13, 20, and 27. The suggested donation is $250. To reserve a date and make your donation for the altar flowers, please contact Chris Howatt. If you’d like to explore other dates or have questions about the flowers or the Flower Guild, please contact Brendon Hunter.

Have you ever thought of serving at the altar? Things are about to quiet down just a bit here at Saint Mary’s during these summer months. Perhaps this is a good time for you to explore the possibility that you have a call to serve here as an acolyte. This is intimidating to some, but it shouldn’t be. The Guild of Acolytes is composed of friendly and helpful folks who would be glad to give you a tour of the sacristy, the smoke room, the frontal room, and even the basement sacristy. They’d be happy to explain how training works, and, most important, what the experience of being an acolyte is like. Schedule a tour today! Just speak to MaryJane Boland, Brendon Hunter, or Grace Mudd. Or come by the sacristy after Mass some Sunday for a chat. We’d be very happy to welcome you to the community of servers. — MJ & JRS

Father Jay Smith will be away from the parish on vacation between July 4 and August 2.

ABOUT THE MUSIC AT THE SOLEMN MASS ON THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, JULY 9, 2023

Hermann Schroeder served for seven years as Cathedral Organist at Trier and later as Professor and ultimately Director of the Music Academy at Cologne. He was a product of the German neo-classical movement in the first half of the twentieth century. Perhaps as a response to the extreme sonic saturation of the romantic and post-romantic schools of the late nineteenth century, the neo-classicists sought leaner textures, sparer and less triad-oriented harmony, shorter and more concise forms, and a more transparent counterpoint. Schroeder composed extensively for the organ and organ with instruments. A catholic, he also composed much sacred choral music. Many of his works have historic chant melodies strung through them. He was a close friend of the Belgian composer Flor Peeters and each composer honored the other with several dedicated works. The Six Little Preludes and Intermezzi, Opus 9, are free works, most of which are in ABA form. Each movement is short but distinctive, and they make an effective suite. The first three movements are played as the prelude on Sunday, and the sixth movement is played as the postlude. 

The musical setting of the Mass on the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost was commissioned in 1974 from Calvin Hampton (1938–1984) by the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship. When the Standing Commission on Church Music of the Episcopal Church compiled its 1976 Church Hymnal Series I, Hampton’s setting was included as the fifth of five new musical settings for Eucharist Rite II. Hampton’s eight-movement setting includes Kyrie, Trisagion, Lord’s Prayer, and Jesus, Lamb of God, in addition to the Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei to be sung at Mass on Sunday. The Gloria is in a flowing 6/8 meter with largely stepwise melodic motion supporting a gentle lyricism throughout. The Sanctus is in common-time but maintains a similar lyricism through the fluid movement of the accompaniment. This Sanctus is the only movement from the setting which was included in The Hymnal 1982. Calvin Hampton was organist and choirmaster at Calvary Episcopal Church in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, for much of his active professional life. He was especially admired for his brilliant organ playing, his wide-ranging and eclectic compositional palette, and his imaginative liturgical and concert programming.

The cantor at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, July 9, is mezzo-soprano, Kirsten Ott. During the Communion she will sing Qui sedes ad dexteram patris from the Gloria, RV589, of Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741). The Italian virtuoso violinist, teacher, impresario and Roman Catholic priest, Antonio Vivaldi, was one of the most important and prolific composers of the Baroque era. His compositions include a wealth of music for strings, but also operas and significant sacred choral works. He is known to have set Gloria in excelsis at least three times, but only two of the settings are extant. That said, the singular piece universally known as “the Vivaldi Gloria” is his setting with the catalogue number 589. This is a large-scaled work in twelve movements for chorus, soloists, and orchestra. The mezzo-soprano aria Qui sedes ad dexteram patris is the tenth movement. It is in 3/8 meter, in the relative minor key, and is scored for violin, viola, basso continuo, in addition to the vocal line. 

More about our Cantor: Kirsten Ott, mezzo-soprano, has been a member of the Choir of Saint Mary’s since the fall of 2021. She sings frequently with Libero Canto, an organization which stages both opera and song programs, and she has also produced several of her own recital programs. She has previously sung with local groups such as Vox Vocal Ensemble and the Manhattan Chamber Choir. Before joining the choir at Saint Mary’s, she had sung for many seasons in the choirs of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Chelsea, and the Church of the Epiphany, Yorkville. Kirsten has extensive acting training and has coached both classical and musical theater performers. She studied oboe at Manhattan School of Music and is also a pianist.

COMING UP

Saturday, July 22, Saint Mary Magdalene

Sunday, August 6, The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Tuesday, August 15, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

SUMMER IN THE CITY

Capital One and the City Parks Foundation present the 37th season of the SummerStage Festival, with 80 free and benefit performances in parks across the five boroughs. You may download the SummerStage brochure and schedule here.

The new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at New York’s Museum of Natural History— 200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5102—is now open. One of the exhibits in this modern and technologically advanced part of the museum is the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium. Entry to the Gilder Center is included with Museum admission. Additional tickets are required for the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium. From the Museum website: “Meet the butterflies—1,000 of them! Inspired by the Museum’s beloved seasonal exhibit, this gallery offers a year-round experience featuring 80 species of butterflies among lush vegetation in tropical temperatures. There are roughly 160,000 species of Lepidoptera, the group made up of butterflies and moths. They live all over the world, from the tropics to the Arctic, to inside this museum! Celebrated for their beauty and grace, they are more than just colorful animals. Some are amazingly camouflaged. Some harbor poisons. Some fly thousands of miles to lay eggs. Find out more and experience them up close in the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium.” 

What You'll See in the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium:

• Up to 80 species of butterflies, out of more than 130 species featured in this gallery, from the neon-colored common green birdwing to the starry night cracker

• A separate display of moths, including the massive atlas moth—one of the largest insects on the planet

• A pupae incubator, where visitors can view chrysalises and witness adult butterflies emerge

• Microenvironments made up of dozens of species of tropical plants, with exhibits that highlight the important roles butterflies and moths play in ecosystems around the world

• A digital microscope and other interactive displays

• An ID board, updated daily, featuring an illustrated card for each species in flight to help you identify butterflies and moths

 Here is a link to the museum’s website which has information about hours, entrances, ticketing, and more.

This edition of the Angelus was written and edited by Father Jay Smith, except as noted. Father Matt Jacobson also edits the newsletter and is responsible for formatting and posting it on the parish website and distributing it via mail and e-mail, with the assistance of Christopher Howatt, parish administrator, and parish volunteer, Clint Best.