Meet Father Rivers

Eric and Emily interview a key musical collaborator of Fr. Clarence Rivers: pianist, composer and arranger William Foster McDaniel. Billy recalls meeting Fr. Rivers in Paris in 1966, where both were pursuing graduate studies. He details how he later worked and traveled with Fr. Rivers for years as his pianist and arranger and shares a recording of a song he co-composed with Rivers called "Soul." Finally, Billy and the hosts discuss Fr. Rivers' legacy and the uniqueness of his contributions. For Episode 26 Show Notes, click here.

Hosts Emily and Eric catch up after a break from podcasting, sharing the projects and events that kept them busy this summer, including travel to present on Fr. Rivers at the National Black Catholic Congress in the Washington, D.C. area. They introduce the second season of the show with a fascinating, 1968 article from National Catholic Reporter interviewing Fr. Rivers. Rivers' setting of the Creed is also shared and discussed. For show notes for Episode 25, click here.

Eric and Emily receive a unique and precious gift: a wedding video recording from 1994 in which Fr. Rivers leads his original Eucharistic Prayer, the Anaphora of the Lion and Lamb. Eric and Emily talk to the bride and groom, Pam and Matt Fellerhoff, about their experience and play audio clips from their memorable celebration. Eric and Emily discuss their reactions to this extraordinary find. For the Episode 24 Show Notes, click here.

Emily and Eric examine a new book that contains two essays by Fr. Clarence Rivers: the Black Catholic Studies Reader: History and Theology, recently published by Catholic University of America Press. We speak with editor Fr. David Endres, a priest of Archdiocese of Cincinnati, seminary dean, and editor of US Catholic Historian. We also speak to one of the book's contributors, Dr. Cecilia Moore, associate professor of religious studies at University of Dayton. We talk about how the Reader came to be, what it aims to achieve, and how it forms a conversation between newer scholars and those foundational voices, like Fr. Rivers, who paved the way for Black Catholics in the United States. Emily and Eric get big ideas for future projects involving Fr. Rivers' writings, and Fr. David reflects on how Fr. Rivers is remembered among Cincinnati clergy. For Episode 23's Show Notes, click here.

Emily and Eric welcome Bro. Louis Canter, OEF, life-long Catholic liturgist, pastoral musician and composer, to the show to talk about an old box of music, slated for destruction, that he found at a pivotal time in his young career. The box was full of colorful music from a publisher called Stimuli, Inc., by a composer named Fr. Clarence Jos. Rivers. Louis tells us about how rescuing that box and playing through it in his free time set a trajectory for his life and career in ministry, helping him understand what it means for music to speak to your very soul. For the Show Notes for Episode 22, click here.

Emily and Eric welcome Black Catholic podcasters Nate Tinner-Williams and Lorna DesRoses to Meet Father Rivers to celebrate Black Catholic History Month (November) with the first-ever Rivers Reading Club. Participants discuss one of Fr. Rivers' most provocative and insightful pieces of writing: a chapter called "The Oral African Tradition Versus the Ocular Western Tradition." The chapter is available as a free download, compliments of Orbis Books (see Show Notes for the link). We discuss Fr. Rivers' critique of the unexamined cultural forces that cause liturgy in North America to limp: the sight-biased and discursive tendencies of Western European-descended cultures. Hosts and guests share their thoughts on Rivers' ideas in our liturgical current context and discuss whether progress has been made since Rivers first published the piece. For Episode 21's Show Notes, click here.

Happy Black Catholic History Month! In this brief but important episode, listeners get oriented to this celebratory month and receive a homework assignment for next episode. But don't fear—this is homework you'll want to do! The fine folks at Orbis Books have given us permission to share a chapter Fr. Rivers published in the 1998 scholarly collection, Taking Down Our Harps (ed. by Fr. Cyprian Davis, OSB and Diana L. Hayes) entitled "The Oral African Tradition Versus the Ocular Western Tradition." This short, fascinating chapter will form the focus of discussion in our next episode. You can access that chapter as a free download (click here for link). Special thanks to Orbis Books. We also discuss what you can do to celebrate BCHM (book recs!), we share a passing of note—James E. Moore—and receive a musical gift from composer Christian Cosas. For the show notes for Episode 20, click here.

Emily and Eric continue their conversation with composer Ken Canedo by asking a tough question about whether Fr. Rivers got co-opted and left behind by the White folk movement in the American Catholic Church. Ken provides a thoughtful response that involves (of all things) Catholic missalettes and lack of accompaniment, and discussion turns to the ways Fr. Rivers may have unintentionally hindered access to his own works. We pose Ken our standard question about Fr. Rivers' obscurity, and Ken's answer is perhaps the most practical we've received: it's because his music has long been unavailable. There's more: enjoy this second part of our interview with composer Ken Canedo. For Episode 19 Show Notes, click here.

Catholic composer and musician Ken Canedo discusses the influence of Fr. Rivers on his life and career in liturgy and music. Ken is the co-composer (with Bob Hurd) of the Gospel-styled song "Alleluia! Give the Glory". Ken and the hosts talk about the advice Fr. Rivers gave Ken when he met him as a young composer and what elements of Fr. Rivers' compositions Ken still strives to incorporate today. Ken is also a chronicler of the story of contemporary music in the North American Catholic Church since Vatican II, and he has authored two books on that subject; guest and hosts dig into Fr. Rivers' place in that story. Ken's fascinating, enlightening ideas about Fr. Rivers, his music and his legacy are too much for one episode to hold! Look for part 2 of our interview in Episode 19. For the Episode 18 Show Notes, click here.

Eric and Emily interview celebrated Catholic liturgical music composer and liturgy scholar Fr. Jan Michael Joncas, who has penned such classics as "On Eagles' Wings" and "I Have Loved You" about Rivers as a composer. Fr. Mike shares two of his own compositions for liturgy in which one can hear Fr. Rivers' influence clearly (full songs included). The conversation situates Rivers as an American Catholic composer and highlights Fr. Rivers' historical significance, our changing times, and other composers who inspire Fr. Mike today (some of whom might surprise you). Fr. Mike offers a helpful, hopeful list of essential elements for composing mystagogical liturgical music in our modern age, Eric gives music recommendations and Emily fan-girls over Fr. Mike's music (but only a little). It's an episode that will interest musicians, composers, and anyone who loves good music. For Episode 17 show notes, click here.