Inevitable: Papa Francesco "likes" Missa Criolla.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    From a new topic at PTB:
    Cardinal Sean O’Malley (Boston) writes about his visit to Argentina:

    When I had to make a trip to South America for the US Bishops Conference to visit projects in Paraguay that are funded by the collection for Latin America, I had to stop in Argentina on the way, where I was [Cardinal Bergoglio's] guest and had a wonderful visit with him. On that occasion, he gave me a beautiful recording of the Missa Criolla, the Argentine Mass.

    Contacts from Argentina tell me that Missa Criolla is his favorite Mass and a favorite gift for him to give visitors to Argentina. It’s by Ariel Ramirez.



    I guess we’ll find out if I’m truly censored here or not. (We'll see if my comments below are at PTB tomorrow...
    These remarks are solely based upon musical content in context.
    Ramirez’s work has stood the test of time as far as its aesthetic credence. But, to claim that it represents the ethos of a post-conciliar, FACP cognizant Mass setting would be a blatant misrepresentation. It is no more congregationally accessible than any choral Mass from Lassus to Faure, or worse Bernstein. It is, IMO, sacred music YES, but whose appeal lies in the realm solely of the senses. In that way it has less FACP than the infamous (not to me) Missa Gaia of Paul Winter et al. And far less authentic grass-roots DNA than Missa Luba or African Sanctus (Fanshawe.) From a working liturgical musician’s POV, it shares more viability with Mozart and the Coronation Mass than does even the noble, flawed efforts of Peloquin.
    But from the commentary thus far, authentic emotion is a worthy admittance, and true humility of noble simplicity in the musical realm still lies outside the walls. And yes, the testosterone-laced Bartolucci solution has returned with a vengeance unmitigated to the screamers, and the people of God be damned with the phrase portions of Mass VIII they’re thrown like a bone.
    If, as has been duly chronicled here more than anywhere, the symptoms of the Franciscan papacy are spiced with bytes of humility, it has yet to show in the one art that as inestimabile donum should beautifully and humbly adorn in service. YMMV

    Thanked by 1CharlesW
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,220
    We performed Misa Criolla at school last year along with Missa Luba, and they both seemed to be rather dated: period pieces that reflect the naive experimentation of the early 60s. Of the two, the Luba seemed to have more consistency, while the Criolla seemed to be an arbitrary collection of styles.
    Thanked by 1BruceL
  • MarkThompson
    Posts: 768
    Huh, I thought the carnival was over.
    Thanked by 5Chris Hebard CharlesW Scott_W chonak KARU27
  • Scott_WScott_W
    Posts: 468
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,986
    I just listened to a performance of it by the UCLA choirs. That Gloria seems reminiscent of Bernstein.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Interestingly, I got the original post onto PTB yesterday. Have tried twice to make some fairly tepid comments, which were promptly dumped into cyberwasteland, apparently.
    I'm starting to think that editorship might have something to do with whose awake at the keyboard at the time of posting over there, over there, over there!
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,220
    Incidentally, this Gloria is slightly longer in duration than the Gloria of Mozart's Coronation Mass. Just sayin'. :-)

    Thanked by 2jpal CHGiffen
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