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A 9/11 tribute album: Ave Maria Mass & Suite For The Americas
One way to mark the anniversary of 9/11 is to listen to music composed as a tribute to the victims by Stephen Edwards. His “Suite for the Americas” was paired with his “Ave Maria Mass”, which was commissioned by Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan, on a CD a few years ago. A small number of copies is still available for purchase, though you can purchase the songs on iTunes, and you can listen to samples of all 21 songs at this link.
The Suite for the Americas is sweeping music worthy of America’s epic saga – it will spark your imagination and evoke the American spirit. Listening to the Ave Maria Mass will make you wonder why the songs are never performed at the Ave Maria Oratory – the Kyrie and Gloria are particularly moving. This review is from Amazon.com:
Steve Edwards has composed a moving tribute to the victims of 9/11 in his Ave Maria Mass. He has an excellent appreciation for this genre of music, creating a reverent transcendence. For those who enjoy fluid, coherent lines of music, Mr. Edwards satisfies this longing. The Gloria moves well, the Sanctus and Benedictus are magnificent. The Agnus Dei hauntingly echoes the musical statement of the Kyrie. His Ave Maria is a wonderful work, that I found appealing. The Suite for the Americas is a set of short pieces for very enjoyable and often very inspirational listening. It begins with a musical flight into what seems an ethereal vista over one of America’s great wonders and plummets to what seems some profound journey. All of the music uses pleasing melodic structures with all dissonances resolved with a canvas of pleasant, beautiful, or magnificent phrasing that I appreciated greatly. It almost seems Steve takes you on a musical afternoon on his Tall Ships, and then steams you down the Grand Mississippi, with music that seems to let you see the danger of the shoals but the magnificence of the moving waters. In the mind’s eye, Steve helps one see the Flag waving in the breeze, the redwoods reaching to the skies. The Eternal Flame is haunting and the Elegy to our Fallen Heroes is the tribute is is meant to be, touching on their greatness and their loss.
This is a list of the tracks:
1. Kyrie
2. Gloria
3. Sanctus
4. Benedictus
5. Agnus Dei
6. Ave Maria
7. Gratias Deo
8. The Eagle Soars
9. I Will Fear No Evil
10. Tall Ships
11. The Grand Mississippi
12. Cowboy’s Jig
13. Flag in the Breeze
14. Central Park Waltz
15. Mighty Redwoods
16. Building a Nation
17. Eternal Flame
18. Niagra Falls
19. Baseball Hero
20. Elegy to our Fallen Heroes
21. Patriotic Parade
Hobby Lobby case of great interest to Ave Maria
The Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby HHS mandate case was today’s big news. The court held that closely held corporations (ones without a lot of shareholders) have religious freedom to refuse to pay for abortion and birth control for their employees due to the religious beliefs of those who control the corporation. Many residents, students, faculty and others associated with the Ave Maria projects and Ave Maria, Florida, are closely following the outcome. These are some of the cases that will be impacted by today’s decision (although the impact on non-profit corporations is still not clear):
For Profit:
- Legatus/Weingartz Supply Co. (E.D. Mich. Dec. 20, 2013) – Legatus was founded by Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan and its headquarters is located in Ave Maria, Florida.
- Domino’s Farms (E.D. Mich. Mar. 14, 2013) – Domino’s Farms was built and is owned by Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan.
- Mersino Management (E.D. Mich. July 11, 2013) – Attorney is Ave Maria School of Law alumna Erin Mersino, whose parents-in-law are the plaintiffs. Law firm is Thomas More Law Center, which was founded by Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan.
- Mersino Dewatering (E.D. Mich.filed Dec. 13, 2013) – Attorney is Ave Maria School of Law alumna Erin Mersino, whose parents-in-law are the plaintiffs. Law firm is Thomas More Law Center, which was founded by Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan.
Non-profit:
- Ave Maria University (M.D. Fla. filed Aug. 29, 2013)
- Ave Maria School of Law (M.D. Fla. filed Nov. 12, 2013)
- Ave Maria Foundation (E.D. Mich. Jan. 13, 2014)
- FOCUS (D. Colo. Apr. 23, 2014) – Fellowship of Catholic University Students is a lay ministry movement that has recently been holding its annual summer training in Ave Maria and has a missionary team on campus (FOCUS is independent and is not otherwise associated with Ave Maria).
- Franciscan University (S.D. Ohio Mar. 22, 2013) – Many of the people who founded Ave Maria College and University had ties to FSU, including Tom Monaghan and Nick Healy. Many alumni and friends of FSU are also part of the Ave Maria projects.
As a side note, one of the foremost commentators on the HHS mandate and religious liberty issues is Matt Bowman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund who is an alumnus of Ave Maria School of Law.
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