My university chaplaincy will be celebrating our patron, Pope St John Paul II, on his feast day, and we are looking for good music suggestions for our Solemn Mass (Novus Ordo).
We always sing "Ego sum Pastor Bonus" I cant remember who the composer is, Ill look and check back in. I also have a spanish popular hymn if you are interested.
The Summit Choirbook has two items with texts by St. John Paul. 503, Do not be afraid, Kievan Chant Tone 6, as a setting of the portion of the Homily of the Insalation Mass on Oct. 22, 1978, English Translation from L'Osservatore Romano. 504, set to a Polish tune for a Rorate paraphrase, "The Shepherd's Call," based on a portion of the Installation Homily. First line, "Beloved flock, oh do not be afraid." cf. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1978/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19781022_inizio-pontificato.html
If you’ve the resources, how about Gorecki’s Totus Tuus or his three Polish hymns? For the latter you’ll need a good pronunciation guide to ensure they don’t just sound like bad Russian!
I'll mention this fwiw: Pescador De Hombres was a favorite hymn of St. John Paul the Great. I cannot tell you how many times I accompanied the full throated singing thereof (in the Polish translation) at St. Stanislaus, B.M., the Polish Parish of Portland, Oregon.
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