Organist for Spanish Masses

St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church
546 East Florence Avenue
Inglewood, CA 90301
Archdiocese of Los Angeles

St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church, a multiethnic parish in the city of Inglewood, California has an opening for an organist for two large Spanish Masses at 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

The organist will work with a cantor to serve the needs of the Spanish-speaking congregation. The ideal candidate will be well-formed in the musical and liturgical traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Duties include playing organ for two Sunday morning Spanish Masses, at 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., including brief pre-Mass rehearsal with the cantor as required. One set of propers/hymnody and ordinary will normally be used at both Masses. Preludes and postludes (depending on season) may be varied. This is for all Sundays in the year, along with Christmas Morning (8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.; only at 10:00 a.m. if Christmas falls on another day of the week). The organist will have the option to sub for other Masses on the weekend or at parish school Masses (every Tuesday and Thursday during the school year). The organist will have the option of playing at other Masses during the year, including approximately ten large choral Masses throughout the year.

The organ is Abbot & Sieker Opus 93 (1986), 24 ranks II/P, electric slider chests. The organ is undergoing some renovation and expansion by Manuel Rosales and the Rosales Organ Company; a moderate expansion is in preparation. The console is in a rear gallery. Current work includes revoicing of the pedal division and the installation of a harmonic flute.

Contributing to the 6.8 seconds of reverberation time are the travertine wainscoting, solid cement walls above, coffered, beautifully decorated cement ceiling rising sixty-eight feet above the floor of the nave, which is terrazzo over solid cement, except for the altar platform and sanctuary floor, which is covered with Calacatta Gold marble.

At the core of the repertoire of the Spanish Mass is chant (Gregorian, Mozarabic, and occasionally other kinds) and traditional Spanish-language devotional hymnody from the modern Ibero-American repertoire. Congregational singing is accompanied by the organ at all eleven weekend Masses; instruments associated with popular and folk music are not used inside the church. Latin dialogues are sung at all Masses, Latin, Spanish, and English. The parish is in the process of learning a second chant ordinary (the simple Mass from Jubilate Deo is currently used at all Masses).

For information or to apply, contact
Steven Ottományi, Director of Music
liturgy13@hotmail.com