Last week, the Thomas More College community came together for a true celebration of Advent. Joel Marshall ’24 organized a concert with songs and readings that reflected the themes of the liturgical season and expressed the waiting that we, the Church, and the world are experiencing as we prepare ourselves for Christ’s coming.
Joel took some time out from studying for final exams to tell us a little more about the spirit of the concert and the special musical piece he wrote with the College in mind.
What inspired you to prepare this Advent concert?
Being familiar with the musical traditions of the great college choirs in England (known humorously as Oxbridge choirs), I felt it appropriate to have our own version of the seasonal performances one finds there. Because we are a Catholic college, we benefit from the liturgical attentiveness necessary to put on a proper Advent concert without the pressure placed on more established choirs to provide “Christmas” concerts. The idea was to have an adaptation of the “carols and lessons” theme rather than an imitation: poetry in addition to Scripture readings, Latin music alongside English music, and darker colors instead of the more familiar red.
What was your thought process in choosing the different pieces and readings that you included?
The pieces were chosen to tell a story of waiting and apprehension. Themes of longing, fear, hope, and reluctance were therefore appropriate. Each of the musical numbers was meant to develop the topic of the previous reading. I wanted the character of the concert to be both immersive and liturgical. The Annie Dillard reading, for example, which deals with the fear of God as symbolized by Santa Claus, is resolved by the words “Judah and Jerusalem fear not nor be dismayed” in the Palestrina Vespers Responsories. This helps to facilitate the mysterious transition from Advent into the Nativity.
The last piece in the concert was one you composed yourself. Can you tell us more about it?
I wrote it with Thomas More College in mind while I was on an internship in Gallup, New Mexico. I remember that it unexpectedly snowed one day in May during classes last year. Our class was in the Helm Room and the whole picture called to mind the connection between the events of Advent and those of Holy Week. I am certainly not claiming to understand the relationship, but they echo one another in the subjects of life and death. This image of the library served as the inspiration for “Aspiciens a longe.” The text itself is taken from the Matins Responsories with which we opened the concert. By beginning with the English translation of the text and concluding with the Latin, we were able to bring the journey full circle.
Concert Program:
Matins Responsories (Adapted from a Magnificat by Palestrina)
Reading: The Parable of the Ten Virgins
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
Reading: “Journey of the Magi” by T.S. Eliot
“Est ist ein Ros entsprungen” by Michael Praetorius
Reading: “Snow” by Louis MacNeice
“Of the Father’s Heart Begotten” (Melody by Theoderici Petri Nylandensis)
Reading: John 1:1–14
“Ave Maria” by Thomas Luis de Victoria
Reading: “Black Rook in Rainy Weather” by Sylvia Plath
“Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending”
Reading: “God in the Doorway” by Annie Dillard
Vesper Responsory by GP Palestrina
“Aspiciens a longe” by Joel Marshall
