"No Greater Love"

Matt Reichert, Fr. Michael Joncas, and Zack Stachowski (July, 2018)

We’re welcoming Fr. Michael Joncas back to speak about another one of his best-loved compositions: “No Greater Love.” While many know this popular song, not everyone knows that it was composed as part of a full Mass setting. So, there are a lot of layers to today’s episode: orchestral Mass settings, setting Scripture to music, using chant-like melodies, the effect of changes to the Mass translation, and what it means to compose “theatrical” liturgical music. We’ll discuss all of these with Fr. Michael, and explore them further with additional choices in the Open Your Hymnal Playlist.

So, please open your hymnal to "No Greater Love."

Episode links

For more information about Fr. Michael Joncas and his other compositions, visit his composer pages at GIA, OCP, and WLP. You can also visit his faculty page at the University of St. Thomas.

You can purchase a copy of the score and a copy of the song recording for "No Greater Love” from GIA Publications. You can also purchase the other song recordings you heard in this episode: Instrumental arrangement of “Gloria from Mass of Light” (David Haas),” At Dawn" (Steve Petrunak), "What is This Place" (Oosterhuis), "Live on in My Love" (Tom Franzak), "Mary’s Song" (Fr. Michael Joncas), and "Heart of a Shepherd" (Rory Cooney). 

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All content of this podcast is property of Open Your Hymnal or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. For information about the podcast and its use, please contact us.

"You Are All We Have"

Fr. Francis Patrick (Fran) O'Brien is the guest for our Thanksgiving episode, and everyone is invited! Fran shares with Matt Reichert and Zack Stachowski his approach to text and melody, his musical influences, and what it's like to be both a liturgical composer and a parish pastor. Plus, there are lots of cameo appearances from Lucien Deiss, Alexander Peloquin, Stephen Sondheim, the cast of Hamilton, and (if you wait for it) Doc Severinsen. We'll need to get a bigger table!

So, please open your hymnal to "You Are All We Have."

Episode links

For more information about Fr. Fran O'Brien and his other compositions, visit his composer page at GIA Publications.

You can purchase a copy of the score and a copy of the song recording from GIA Publications. Here you can also purchase the other Fr. Fran O'Brien song you heard in the episode: "How Deep the Riches," and "Nativity Carol." While at GIA, you can purchase "Gloria of the Bells" by Alexander Peloquin and "No Greater Love" by Fr. Michael Joncas. The song "Grant To Us" by Lucien Deiss can be purchased at World Library Publications. Finally, "City of God" by Dan Schutte can be purchased at OCP. 

The song "Alexander Hamilton" from the musical Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda), "Move On" from the musical Sunday in the Park with George (Stephen Sondheim), and "Johnny's Theme" (Doc Severinsen) can be purchased on iTunes. 

Don't forget to "subscribe" so you'll never miss an episode!

All content of this podcast is property of Open Your Hymnal or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. For information about the podcast and its use, please contact us.