About the Composer

Fr. Columba Kelly, OSB, is the director and composer for the Saint Meinrad Gregorian Schola.

Fr. Columba finished his doctorate in church music at Musica Sacra in Rome just as Roman liturgy was moving from Latin into English. During the last 35 years, in addition to his teaching, Fr. Columba has created a body of English chant based on the natural word rhythm of spoken word.

Presently, there are over 1,800 responsories and antiphons in the liturgical books at Saint Meinrad. This music, which represents only part of his work, forms the day-to-day music of the Archabbey. This work has been carried on over the years with the assistance of Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB, and Fr. Tobias Colgan, OSB. The English antiphons on Saint Meinrad's chant CD recordings give an indication of his achievement.

Two years ago, a small group of monks gathered to sing select pieces of the Latin chant. In the process, Fr. Columba began to explore the possibility of recreating melismatic chants for English texts developed to fit (more or less) the Latin melody. Although the music for the English is similar to that for the Latin, it is not the same. Rather it has been carefully crafted to respect the rhythm and meaning of the English text.

In addition, Fr. Columba has created wholly new compositions, such as the responsorial psalms for the Third Sunday of Advent and for Christmas Midnight Mass in the melismatic idiom; both are contained on the Advent and Christmas CD. All of these compositions are an attempt to recreate the tradition for our own time. With its free rhythm and modal sonority, chant has a decidedly modern sense.

The monastic life and prayer at Saint Meinrad Archabbey began in 1854 with the coming of monks from the Abbey of Einsiedeln in Switzerland. This revered Swiss monastery was itself founded in 934 at the hermitage of St. Meinrad, who had been killed by robbers in 863. One of the most important manuscripts of early medieval notation is still in the monastic library of Einsiedeln. Benedict, in his Rule for monks, describes monastic life as a search for God. Saint Meinrad's chant CD recordings are a celebration of that great tradition and a testament to its vitality.