This prayer from St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises was commissioned by the Church Music Association of America for their 2020 Colloquium in Tampa, FL. That Colloquium did not take place do to the Covid 19 restrictions enforced throughout the country.
On a cold rainy night, two years later, in early March of 2022 Mary Dowd (soprano), Jessica Brauer Echtenkamp (alto), Patrick McNally (bass), and myself (tenor) sang this piece to life, ending its hidden life in my "desk drawer." Time and seasonal colds were against us, but in the end the result was one I’m happy to share with you. I am sincerely grateful for the above-mentioned singers whose beautiful voices, musicianship, and professionalism, (…and patience with me) I so much admire who helped this piece be realized. Thanks to Rev. Fr. Joseph Heffernan, FSSP of St. Francis of Assisi Oratory. Rehearsal Recording March 5, 2022 St. Francis of Assisi Oratory | Lincoln, NE USA Microphones: Zoom H2N and AKG C2000 Thank you for your interest in my work. Please share this with others and keep in touch. If you'd like to support professional recordings of my compositions (i.e. one that is better than this) please contact me and/or find more scores & info at www.nicholaslemme.com Receive, O Lord, all my liberty. Take my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. Whatever I have or hold, Thou hast given me; I give it all back to Thee and surrender it wholly to be governed by Thy will. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace, and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more. ~from Spiritual Exercises no. 234
Find the score here.