Sounds from The Sanctuary

This year we mourn the loss of Richard Unfried. A lifetime organist and church musician, Richard helped lead Christian worship from the organ bench of many congregations in Southern California and through the Hour of Power broadcasts, reached people across the world. He worked on this very campus playing for the Hour of Power both in the Arboretum and the Crystal Cathedral spaces. A humble, Christian man, and a singularly talented organist, his legacy lives on through his many students and the lives he has touched. In this episode, we hear his interview with Dr. John A. Romeri on Music from the Tower.

In celebration of America’s 250 Birthday, today’s Episode features American Organists (our own David Ball, Dr. Emma Whitten, and Agatha Teague), playing American music (by American composers including John Weaver, Charles Ives, Daniel Ficarri, and Ryan Dodge), on American Instruments (Christ Cathedral’s Hazel Wright Organ, and the organ of the National Shrine in Washington D. C.). Here in the United States, we have a musical heritage to be proud of - a heritage that finds its roots in Europe but has developed into its own uniquely exciting genre. In this episode, experience the rich variety of American music brought to life on pipe organs you could only find in America - instruments versatile enough to bring any style of repertoire to life in their uniquely, architecturally American worship spaces. Special thanks to the music staff of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

An evening of improvisation and classical music on the Hazel Wright Organ, featuring David Enlow, a choir master and music director, praised as a “commanding” organist by The New Yorker. Made possible in part by a donation from Lucy Dunn in memory of organist Bob Cummings. Find more at christcathedralmusic.org

An annual showcase of young musical talents presented by the organ scholars and choral scholars of the Christ Cathedral music program. Find more at christcathedralmusic.org

Today’s episode features Dr. Jennifer Pascual, Organist and Director of Music at “America’s Parish Church”, St. Patrick’s Cathedral - NYC. A Southern California native, hear how she discovered the pipe organ and has gone on to direct the music for multiple Papal visits and play organ concerts on the world’s great organs - from the great Kilgen of St. Patrick’s, to historic American instruments in Massachusetts, to pipe organs in the Holy Land!

Frank La Rocca is David’s guest on this episode of Sounds from the Sanctuary. His recent composition Mass of the Americas has made him a household name in Catholic music circles. Based off traditional Guadalupe hymns, Mass of the Americas has been performed at major Catholic Cathedrals and churches all around North America, including at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, and, recently, here at our own Christ Cathedral at the request of Bishop Vann for the Diocesan Noche Guadalupana Festival Liturgy. La Rocca tells the story of this beautiful Mass’s origins, augmented by the story of his own journey of faith and music. And in case you missed it, re-watch the livestream of Christ Cathedral’s Mass of the Americas livestream at https://www.christcathedralmusic.org/concerts2526/massoftheamericas

Meet Agatha Teague, Christ Cathedral’s new Associate Organist. David and Agatha chat about Agatha’s background, and her story unfolds from growing up as a congregant at the Crystal Cathedral to being appointed to Associate Organist here at Christ Cathedral. The episode is accompanied by some of Agatha’s favorite music - movements from some of the repertoires beloved choral settings of the Requiem. Discover Agatha’s journey and then finally her play the Hazel Wright Organ bringing this episode to a celebratory conclusion!

Today’s episode from Sounds from the Sanctuary answers a question that our host David Ball fields frequently - how do you pick choral music to enhance our Masses here at Christ Cathedral? In this episode, we listen to music from the first few Sundays of the Choral Season in September and October, and David explains how each piece was chosen to complement and even sometimes match word-for-word the Sacred Scriptural texts assigned to any given Sunday in the Catholic lectionary. Hear a variety of music from Palestrina to Proulx - the Italian Cathedral style to the American Cathedral style.

And Jesus said to Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

This episode of Sounds from the Sanctuary features music inspired by St. Peter, specifically that exact line from Scripture, as it is from the Gospel reading for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul - which this year 2025 falls on a Sunday. Some of the oldest Christian texts are the Tu Es Petrus quote from scripture and the sacred litany, Christus Vincit, both appropriate for this year’s solemnity, but also in celebration of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope. Enjoy musical settings of these medieval texts - from the chanted litany to newly written settings by MacMillan, LaPrairie, and Chepponis, and of course, ending with Virgil Fox’s performance of Thou art the rock on the Hour of Power from our own Arboretum.

Here at Christ Cathedral, we are blessed with the uplifting sounds of the Hazel Wright Organ - the 5th-largest instrument ever constructed. On today’s episode of Sounds from the Sanctuary, we hear recordings from the Wanamaker Organ - the largest instrument in the world - even bigger than Hazel! The Wanamaker Organ was in a Macy’s department store in downtown Philadelphia, but Macy’s has recently closed that store, making it impossible to hear that instrument live. Hopefully, the building’s next owners will support this incredible treasure - the daily concerts from the Wanamaker Grand Court. In the meantime, let’s listen to some recordings of this unique instrument - from the Grand Court Organist himself, Peter Richard Conte; from the greatest organist of the 20th Century, Virgil Fox; and from a young organist recently a guest on Sounds from the Sanctuary, Aaron Patterson.