Sung by the St. Ann Choir last Sunday (Ascension Day as celebrated here):
William Byrd, propers for the Feast of the Ascension
Jacobus Gallus, Ascendens Christum in altum
Wonderful singing, including some darned loud and confident Gregorian chant by the congregation.
In 1867, Matthew Arnold wrote "Dover Beach", a haunting poem evoking the "melancholy, long, withdrawing roar" of the Sea of Faith. As a boomer who finished Catholic elementary school in 1964 and then watched my Church falter, I've found the roar all too audible. So here I wait, listening for the whispers of that Sea's invincible return.
