The Recovering Choir Director

On Thursday, August 18, amidst throngs of young adults gathered on the banks of the Rhine, Pope Benedict enters the city of Cologne on a ship. The soundtrack accompanying this momentous occasion is rather ordinary in that, while religiously inspired, the music clearly derives from secular culture and is distinguishable only by the lyrics.

All of this changes when the Holy Father steps into the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Mary—the Kölner Dom. Immediately the choir sings the instantly recognizable open fifths of Anton Bruckner’s setting of the proper text for the reception of a bishop, and the throng, receiving the fanfare, hushes ever so noticeably. They know not what the choir sings, but they know it is important. I recognize the music and its appropriateness, but have not committed the translation to memory.

ECCE SACERDOS MAGNUS! ECCE SACERDOS MAGNUS! ECCE SACERDOS MAGNUS!

Truly, the profane—at least on this day—has remained outside of the temple.

It is striking to note the juxtaposition of the imposing magnitude of the Cathedral and the initial intensity of Bruckner’s motet sung by hundreds of men, women and children, with the serenity that the Holy Father exudes as he strides, calmly but deliberately, to the high altar behind which lies the reliquary of the Magi.

Translation:

Behold a great priest,
who in his days pleased God.

Therefore, by an oath,
the Lord made him increase among his people.

He gave him the blessing of all nations,
and confirmed his covenant upon his head.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 43: 16, 27

The motet ends with the Holy Father kneeling at the reliquary, and soon after a Renaissance setting unfamiliar to me—a colleague says it’s a Palestrina—is begun*. But it (almost) does not matter.

The Pope was greeted at the Dom with the prescribed text set masterfully to music by a Germanic composer (Catholic, no less!), and the crowd at the Roncalli Plaza recognized the visceral power of the composition, if not the content and context of it. No doubt, some of them will recognize it in the future, and will be even more struck by the moment.

Anton Bruckner
Ecce sacerdos magnus [ PDF | MIDI ]

*If you have been able to identify the piece immediately following the Bruckner, please e-mail me. Full credit will be given.

Update 2005.08.24: Thanks to frequent commenter Art, who identified the Palestrina as, fittingly enough, Tu es Petrus a 6 [ PDF ]