Ancient Voices, Modern Harmonies: Mercy Sings
Program Notes by
Michael McCabe
These two works by Michael McCabe weave ancient chant traditions into contemporary choral writing with striking effect. Hymn to Saint Cecilia, composed for the choir of St. Cecilia’s Cathedral and premiered at her tomb in Rome, sets a luminous text for unaccompanied voices, letting the choir’s pure, unaided sound honor the patron saint of music. A Radiant Mercy Softly Lies, inspired by a meditation on the Passion, grounds its chant passages in organ and drone, drawing the listener into prayer as the harmony unfolds around a steady, sustaining presence.
Hymn to Saint Cecilia
Come, thou bride of Christ, Cecelia
receive the crown which the Lord hath prepared for thee, forever.
For whose love thou didst shed thy blood,
Thou hast lived righteously, and loathed iniquity:
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above all people.
In thy holiness and beauty go forth and live forever in glory,
Come thou bride of Christ, Cecilia,
receive the crown which the Lord hath prepared for thee forever.
Alleluia
HYMN TO ST CECILIA was written for the choir of St. Cecilia’s Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska on the occasion of their pilgrimage to St. Peter’s, Rome to sing the closing Mass for the Year of Mercy with the Sistine Chapel Choir. During that time, they visited the tomb of St. Cecilia in Rome and sang the premier performance of this piece there.
A Radiant Mercy Softly Lies
In quiet gloom of evening’s prayer,
Beneath an olive’s sorrowed bough,
Our Lord in anguish deep and bare
He kneels with hope, though fate allows
A bitter cup of lover profound
forgiveness blooms where death is found
Along the winding, cobbled way
His footsteps mark a sacred art
bearing the weight of our dark day
Each step a sermon from the heart
In silent eyes and whispered grace
He lifts our souls beyond disgrace
The trial’s shadow a bitter court
With mockery and tears and sighs
Yet through each sting in every sort
A radiant mercy softly lies
“Father, forgive,” his pleas ascends.
A hymn of healing that transcends
Upon the cross’s cruel embrace,
Scarred but crowned in the purest love
He meets our sins with gentle grace
A mercy as vast as skies above
In each bold stroke, a lesson clear,
That grace redeems both far and near
So let our hearts, like ancient psalms,
Resound the truth with every breath
In the suffering hope and calm
The passion sings of life from death
For in the pain the light is cast
A promise that endures steadfast
Throughout this Lacan tale we find
A mirror for our own deep scars
The call to love to be entwined
In humble hearts, like shining stars,
lives called to echo noble heart
Forgiving, healing, set apart
A RADIANT MERCY SOFTLY LIES was written after the text has been presented as a sermon at St. Anthony on the Desert by the author and rector, Mother Holly Herring. After the service, I mentioned that I had been moved by the text. Mother Holly remarked that she had hoped it would be set to music. After returning home that afternoon, I did so.