Music for Mama Mary I've Been Loving Lately

Hi friends!

Over the past little while, I have started so many different blog posts, and haven’t finished them. I run out of steam. I have writers block. I feel like I have so few ideas. I feel like I have nothing of use to say and share. It’s a weird place to be.

The past two weeks have been roller coasters. They truly have. I don’t know how I’ve been making it through. Praise God for naps and therapy sessions!

But one night, I found myself looking for something inside. I’ve been woefully neglectful of prayer, and I can feel it. My soul is like a desert, y’all. I was searching for beauty, for something to feed my soul and my heart. I’d had the worst panic attack I’d ever had earlier that night, and as I lay down to go to bed, I found myself wanting to listen to music. Not just any music. Choral music. Beautiful music. Not the Top 40 adjacent noise that comes out of my speakers most days. Actual, honest to goodness MUSIC.

I turned to one of my go-to modern composers, Eric Whitacre. I’ve been listening to his music for YEARS now, and have sung at least one of his pieces with a choir. To listen to his compositions is to almost float on air. To truly experience surround sound.

I found a piece to accompany the Instagram story I was posting, called “Goodnight Moon”. It’s the children’s bedtime classic set to music. The music swelled in my headphones, and I found the line “and the cow jumping over the moon”. My heart, y’all. I knew what I had been missing. Beauty. Of course, I’m missing Jesus, too, but music as well.

Music has always been a big part of my life. I was in a choir for most of my school experience, and it has always been something I’ve enjoyed. Sacred music in particular has formed me in so many ways, as a singer, and as a person.

So one recent morning, I sat in front of my computer and I thought about prayer. And I knew that I had to go back to visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament regularly, but I needed help. I couldn’t just sit there in silence. I needed music. Beautiful music. Not the praise and worship that you hear at conferences and events. No, no. Choral music. Sacred music. Music that is not just noise. Music that fills the heart and soul, and brings it to heaven, where the harps and trumpets accompany the angels in singing a beautiful song of praise to God.

Good music fills the heart.

Maybe you need more music in your life right now. We could all use more beauty that elevates our souls to the Most High God, King of Kings. In the hopes of providing you with quality music, here are some of my favorite sacred choral pieces to sing and listen to! Today I’m going to stick to my favorite Marian pieces, but stay tuned as the liturgical calendar changes to hear some of my favorites from other seasons!

I’m going to be honest with you; this is all different arrangements of the Ave Maria that I love, and a Regina Coeli. You’ll notice that the Schubert is missing (you know the one), and that is because, frankly, I am so tired of it that I want to cry every time I hear it at a wedding. Once you’ve heard these, you’ll understand why I think that one is overdone.

Ave Maria

Arcadelt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1CqG6YfbYQ

Though this version is taken at a faster speed than I would like, it is still a beautiful piece, and

well worth your time to listen to.

Biebl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pmOGEmstuY

This is the arrangement of the Ave Maria I want sung at my wedding and my funeral. It is stunning sung by both men and women, or just by men. It is by far my favorite arrangement of the Ave Maria. Just close your eyes when you listen to it, and sit where ever you are doing nothing. It’ll be one of the best things, if not the best thing, you do for yourself all day.

Rachmaninoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF_o56tobps

The Russian version of the Ave Maria is hauntingly beautiful and one of my favorites. This is also a very beautiful piece to sing with a choir.

Regina Coeli

Aichinger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7L6aULZiRQ&list=PLqvK3KKnpQgnqSZDubNgSgnxRi_zNEcj9&index=2&t=0s

This is potentially my favorite Marian piece of all time, though it’s hard to pit this and the Biebl against each other. This piece is perfect for Easter, and is one of my all-time favorites to sing. It is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. An important note for this one is that if you listen to the arrangement I have in my Spotify playlist, the pronunciation there is lacking, so if you're a stickler for that sort of thing, I'd stick to YouTube.

I hope you all enjoyed this quick blog post that’s something a little different and a little happier than what I usually talk about here. Let me know which of these is your favorite piece! I also have a Spotify account- The OCD Catholic – that has these pieces there as well, though not these exact renditions, and multiple versions of the same piece because they’re just so pretty! Check it out here!

I have missed you all tons!

I am praying for you.

St. Therese, pray for us.