James Biery (born 1956) is an American organist, composer and conductor who is Minister of Music at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church (Presbyterian) in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, where he directs the choirs, plays the 66-rank Klais organ and oversees the music program of the church. Prior to this appointment Biery was music director for Cathedrals in St. Paul, Minnesota and Hartford, Connecticut. He has written many wonderful choral works including Ubi Caritas, Christ, the Solid Rock, and Break Forth in Joyous Song.
This is a very special piece to me as it is a piece that I conducted as a Junior in high school and at a Good Friday service. It is all linked to the very first motive of the repeated bass notes. He then layers the parts on top of each other with repeated text into a climax that eventually fades away. Here is the text and translation:
Original Latin
O sacrum convivium!
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis eius:
mens impletur gratia:
et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.
Alleluia.
Translation of original Latin
O sacred banquet!
in which Christ is received,
the memory of his Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory to us is given.
Alleluia.
The very dissonant and powerful chords really reflect a very honest depiction of Lent.
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