The ThinkND Podcast
The ThinkND Podcast
FiresideND, Part 9: A Christmas Gift for You from Notre Dame’s Magnificat Choir
The Magnificat Choir proclaims the glory of God through prayerful song and strives to draw people closer to Christ with its ministry. The choir celebrates and builds upon the rich musical traditions of the Church, uplifts women’s voices, and serves the community as the hands and feet of Christ. As a diverse group of singers, the ensemble reflects the Notre Dame family by fostering a spirit of community that creates lifelong friendships.
As Christmas is celebrated the world over, Notre Dame’s Magnificat Choir humbly offers you the gift of voices lifted high in praise from their newest album released in November 2024 entitled Magnificat (Signum Records). Listen in to these special hymns highlighting the prayers, words, and music of women, as well as composers from the University of Notre Dame.
With this album, we seek to magnify the light of Christ through prayer, meditation, and song. As Mary’s “yes” brought light into the world, we pray she may serve as our example.
The album begins with Kartika Putri’s simple yet apt “Chorister’s Prayer,” which the choir prays to begin every rehearsal as we strive to make real the words that we sing. Next is a Bernadette Farrel’s, “O God, You Search Me,” reminding us that before we even speak our prayers, God knows our thoughts and discerns our purpose. In Kola Owolabi’s “Prayer of St. Francis,” we once again pray to put our beliefs into action, and to make God’s light visible in the world.
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We begin our album just as we begin all of our choir rehearsals, with the chorister's prayer. This prayer serves as a reminder, first, of our ministry of music, and then continues to challenge us to allow that character and gift of service to penetrate the rest of our lives. We pray that what we sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives. To be a true servant of God requires more than lip service. It requires a whole life given over to Him. These words of our choir songs, which are often the words of scripture, are meant to affect us interiorly, so that what we first say we may come to fully believe. It is that belief that then turns into witness. Just as visitors to the Basilica often look up at the choir loft, so we pray that all of our voices and lives may be uplifted to God. The Magnificat Choir commissioned the simple and beautiful setting of the Chorister's Prayer from the Wisconsin based organist and composer, Kartika Putri. Bless, O Lord, your servants who minister in your temple. And at what we see with our lips, we may believe in a voice, and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives. The second track on our album is Bernadette Farrell's hymn, Oh God, You Search Me and You Know Me. This beautiful arrangement for women's choir, organ, harp, and violin was created by South Bend composer Hilary Dorries. The course of our lives on earth can be defined by one single word, search. The search for fulfillment, for purpose, for a higher calling. The search for who we are meant to be. At times, this search can seem harrowing, and the weight of its enormity is overwhelming. But O God, you search us and you know us. You are with us, before us, behind us, there beside us in every moment of life or death. Our search for God is not in vain, because he seeks us out, too, longing only to share with us his perfect peace and divine love. It is because of the catching force of the fullness of God's love that he is with us beyond our understanding. God created man by love and for love, in his image and likeness. We are fully known and loved by God. In those moments when the way is dark and hazy, the search for God seems daunting and near impossible. But light dispels the darkness. From the moment God created the world. The moment he uttered, let there be light, a new day dawned. God takes our hand and pulls us into the light of his peace and love everlasting. And even the darkness is radiant in his sight. Although we may feel lost, we are exactly where we need to be. The God of our present, our past, and our future has a plan for each one of us. He will speak to our hearts and make saints out of the people he created us to be. You search me and you know me, must I open to your gaze? When I walk or lie down, you are before me, ever the maker and keeper of my days. You know my resting and my rising. You descend, my heart is full of love, And with love everlasting you besiege me, In every moment of life or death you are. Before a word is on my tongue. You are with me beyond my understanding, God of my present, my past, and future too. I am with you. I am with you. I am with you. I am with you. Spirit is upon me. Still I search for shelter from your light. There's nowhere on earth I can escape you. Even the darkness is radiant in your sight. The one who created me and shaped me. If you'd like to support our ministry, please like and subscribe to our channel. Have a blessed day. The third track on our album is a beautiful setting of the Prayer of St. Francis, composed by Notre Dame's organ professor Kolo Owolabi. In this prayer, we are asking God to allow us to be an example of His love and word to others. Through the difficulties that life undoubtedly presents us, we strive to walk in light of God and demonstrate this through our actions and love we share with others. This is a beautiful way of looking at life as we are called to be selfless and to find fulfillment in being of service to others, which, in the end, is what God is asking us to do. As a choir focused on music ministry, we strive to live out the words that we sing in a meaningful way with God's help and to reflect His beauty through our lives and our actions. We pray that the words we sing may inspire others to be the hands and feet of Christ That's what we're going to discuss in the world today. God, make me an instrument of thy peace, A verse they've heard. Let me saw love where there is injury. There is doubt, faith, when there is despair, hope, when there is darkness, light, when there is sadness, joy. And that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand. To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. And it is in dying that we are born to live. in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. God's commandments are all oriented toward love. God's law is the law of love. In order to love, and to love fully, we must consider in our minds and ponder in our hearts that each person set on earth is beloved of the greatest love. Emily Mason's beautiful new setting of Meditabor which she composed for the Magnificat Choir, calls us to deeply meditate on what it means to uphold God's commandments. The peace is expansive and peaceful, much like how we find ultimate rest and communion when we live out God's law of love. If we follow the law of love of God, we overcome the barriers dividing us. We break down the walls of prejudice and discrimination, of racism and homophobia, those which lead us away from God and from each other. If God is love, and he molds us into conduits of extending his love, then showing love to others is the equivalent of bringing God to them. As you listen to this piece, consider this. How are you living out God's law of love? Um, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh. Meditavo rimandatis tui. Meditavo. Meditavo. Meditavo. Meditavo rimandatis tui. Meditavo rimandatis tui. Que Dilecti, Que Dilecti Volte. Et Levat, Levat humanus deus. Manus meas ad mandata tuum. Quae di lexi, quae di lexi laude. Let it out, let it out, let it out, let it out, let it out. The first words of the prayer, Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, come from Luke's account of the Annunciation. Mary's yes to Gabriel was a continuation of her already grace filled relationship with the Lord. We recite St. Elizabeth's words at the visitation when we pray the next line of the Hail Mary. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. At the visitation, St. John the Baptist, in Elizabeth's womb, leapt for joy at Mary's coming. At which Elizabeth greeted Mary, and Mary responded with her famous prayer, the Magnificat. In the final part of the Hail Mary, we ask our Blessed Mother to pray for us. Since Mary is the Mother of God, and close to His sacred heart, we ask for her prayers on our behalf. To imitate her attitude of openness to God's plan, we can cultivate lives of prayer and meditate upon the scriptures as she did, in order to grow closer to the Lord. This poignant musical setting of the Hail Mary was composed for the Magnificat Choir by Indianapolis based organist and composer Susan Powell. We sing the prayer three times. Layering more voices with each repetition as our prayer grows stronger before ending with a peaceful amen at the conclusion. With the holy bell, Jesus. Holy bell. Sinners come and at the hour of awe. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee, Holy Mary. Blessed art thou, O Mary, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee, holy Mary, Blessed art thou among women, Blessed's the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. with its bright sound and memorable melody, Anak Pacha perfectly encapsulates a hymn of praise to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. This synonymous song is the first known example of a polyphonic music written in the Western Hemisphere. It combines the sounds of European sacred music with a native Quechua language and the rhythms of Peru and served as a hymn to be sung in religious processions. In these processions, the faithful might take an entire day to process from their town to the top of a mountain. Carrying an image of the Blessed Mother as they sing and pray. The Magnificat Choir first learned this piece when we visited the Holy Cross missions in Peru in 2019, where we experienced these religious processions firsthand and heard the melody of this song ringing from the bells of the Cathedral in Lima. This song stresses that Mary is our spiritual mother who leads us through the trials of our lives and connects us more deeply to her son, Jesus Christ. This hymn reinforces the idea that Mary is a powerful intercessor and hears our prayers. Indeed, Mary is heaven's joy and deserves to be praised for the monumental role she has in our lives. Oh, I'm not much of who's he doing? Oh, I'm not cocked up, or just hiding. You buy rule, rule book of my, I'm not cool enough, so I'm not doing me. Come on out, I came here for you. If you'd like to support our ministry, please like and subscribe to our channel. Have a blessed day. Our new album would be incomplete without a piece from our choir's patron, St. Hildegard of Bingen. St. Hildegard was a talented medieval mystic, poet, writer, scientist, composer of music, and doctor of the church. She worked tirelessly for the betterment of the church as a whole, confronting the rich and powerful of her day to bring about reform. Her writings show her love for God's creation and her extensive work with medicinal healing. In the hymn O Pastor Animarum, Hildegard asks the shepherd of our souls, the primal voice, to hear our pleas and to free us from our miseries and feebleness. Like a lamb tenderly resting on the shoulders of its shepherd, we are led out of our miseries and feebleness by the Good Shepherd. When we're in a dark place, it can be tempting to believe we've been abandoned by God. But if we surrender ourselves to God, He will lead us out of this darkness in His timing. And He wants to do this because He loves us. The timeless quality of Hildegard's music, paired in this arrangement with the bright celestial tones of the Notre Dame Handbell Choir, is perfectly suited to create an atmosphere depicting God's eternal, comforting, and primal voice. Custom words. ThinkND. ThinkND. ThinkND. ThinkND. ThinkND. ThinkND. ThinkND. If jesus said, Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Kathleen Tomerson's hymn, I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light, emphasizes the need to adopt a childlike heart. With its joyfully simple melody and lyrics, we're given the chance to reflect on how we can do just that. How might we give our lives fully over to God, trusting him with everything, just as a child depends on his parents? How might we, like a child, look only at the brightness of God, turning away from everything that is dark? How might we increase our joy, just like a child might? For many of us in the Magnificat Choir, a large part of the answer to these questions lies in the gift of music. The joy that comes from being able to sing every week for Mass alongside our friends is a joy that is unlike any other. It is such a gift that we are able to lift our voices together that not only praise the Lord, but also invite others to do the same. Whenever we step into the choir loft, we feel almost as if we are children once again. Children whose only desire is to praise their Heavenly Father through music. We pray that as you listen to this beautiful new arrangement of Kathleen Tomerson's hymn, that you may be inspired to be Christ's light to the world. I want to walk as a child of the light. I want to follow Jesus. God sent a star to give light to the world. The star of my life is Jesus. If there is no darkness at all, the night and the day are both alike. The love is the light of the city of God. Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus. Clear sun of righteousness, shine on my path, and show me the way to the Father. In Him that is the darkness at all, the night and the day are all alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God. Shine in their hearts, Lord Jesus. I'm looking for the coming of Christ. I want to live with Jesus. When we have gone with patience our ways, we shall know the joy of the Lord. Christ is born, Lord Jesus. In him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alive. The Lord is the light of the city of God. Shine in my heart. He is my savior. Shine in my heart, shine in my heart, my Jesus. Cincinnati based composer Brenda Portman created a strikingly original setting of the psalm Laudate Dominum when she wrote this piece for the Magnificat Choir in 2019. You might not expect a piece entitled Praise the Lord to be somber, mysterious, and sometimes plaintive in tone, but we need to remember that we're called to praise God at all times. Whether our praises ring out in boisterously joyous moments, or are quietly whispered in times of despair or doubt. Brenda's music expresses the various moments of praise we may experience in life, beginning first with introspective repetitions of Laudate Dominum before expanding into a grand and glorious proclamation that God has accomplished everything on earth with the words, Fetid in cello et in terra. Following these confident outbursts of praise, The piece then ends as sweetly as it began, with gentle repetitions from the psalm Praise the Lord. Choir singing in Latin. The namesake of our choir and the title of our new album, Magnificat, is taken from the Gospel of Luke. Magnificat anima mea domino, my soul magnifies the Lord. These powerful words are Mary's hymn of praise to God upon hearing her cousin Elizabeth's greeting, blessed art thou amongst women. Mary's lyrical language easily lends itself to music, and for centuries composers have used the full range of a choir's expressivity to give her voice. Bold passages emphasize her joy, Or a single quiet soloist embodies her wonder and awe. Dynamic shifts accentuate the contrast between God's power and God's mercy. In this newly composed version, written for our choir, an intricate and exciting musical setting layers Mary's voice with so many of our own. This helps us to embody her experience in each of our own voices as we sing Mary's Magnificat as members of the Notre Dame Magnificat Choir. With Our Lady, through song, our souls proclaim the Lord's greatness and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior. May Mary's words inspire us as we strive to follow her perfect example of a life of praise. Music Music Call me. He that is mighty hath magnified me. His mercy, his mercy is great. ThinkND is a website where you can find a lot of information on how to make your own custom words. Promise to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever. The Son of God. And to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. If you liked this video and would like to support our ministry, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on social media at NDMagnificatChoir. If you would like to support our ministry, please subscribe to our channel. and have a blessed day.
Paul Blaschko:I want to thank our listeners for joining us this month on FiresideND. I hope you enjoy the episode and will visit think.nd.edu to learn more Until next time, inspire your mind and spark conversations.