Saint Vincent Seminary announces the release of its debut CD, O God Come to my Assistance: Saint Vincent Seminarians in Song. The CD showcases the multicultural diversity of the Seminary, with songs in Spanish, Vietnamese, and even a Baptist choir piece, along with several individual and duo selections. Songs sung by the Spanish choir include “Perdona a Tu Pueblo” and “Pescador de Hombres.” “Ca Khug Trâm Huong” is performed by the Vietnamese Choir. Original pieces include “God Above All” written by Deacon Robert Fleckenstein, “Melody in E” written by Rev. Daniel Langa, and “The Good Pelican” co-written by Michael Gossett and Rev. Langa.
Father Justin Matro, O.S.B., Seminary Rector, said the idea came about several years ago and was put into action this past spring by he and Deacon Robert Fleckenstein.
The purpose of the CD is to showcase Saint Vincent Seminary’s diversity and talent by showing “all of [the seminarians] enjoying each other’s music together and the freedom to express [their] faith and religion in the original pieces that were written,” said Fleckenstein.
O God Come to my Assistance: Saint Vincent Seminarians in Song is now available for $15 plus shipping and handling at http://www.stvincentstore.com. Plans are also in the making for the majority of the songs on the CD to be available for purchase on iTunes.
The tracks for the CD were recorded during the Spring 2009 semester in the Saint Gregory the Great Chapel and in the Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica. The CD was then professionally engineered at George Harris’ studio in Bridgeville. The production of the CD included more than thirty seminarians helping with the various aspects of the process ranging from singing, playing, and writing songs to a seminary-wide CD naming contest and the designing of the album’s cover.
Seminarians in the vocal groups on the disc include:
ARCHDIOCESE OF ATLANTA
Luis Alvarez, Ernie Darby, Rev. Dominic Tran, a 2009 graduate, Thang Pham, Cong Nguyen, and Tri Nguyen.
DIOCESE OF ALTOONA-JOHNSTOWN
Rev. Matthew Baum, a 2009 graduate, Thomas Trofino.
DIOCESE OF BIRMINGHAM
Charles Affholter
DIOCESE OF COVINGTON
William Appel.
DIOCESE OF HARRISBURG
Kevin Coyle, Stephen Kelley, Matthew Larlick, Kyle Sahd.
DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH
Deacon Robert Fleckenstein, Rev. Daniel Langa, a 2009 graduate, and Rev. Michael Zavage, a 2009 graduate.
DIOCESE OF WHEELING-CHARLESTON
Jose Manuel Escalante, Cody Ford, Ryan Stichweh.
DIOCESE OF SAVANNAH
Vernon Knight.
DIOCESE OF STEUBENVILLE
Michael Gossett and Rigo Ochoa.
SAINT BENEDICT’S ABBEY
Brother Jeremy Heppler, O.S.B.
SAINT VINCENT ARCHABBEY
Brother Maximillian Maxwell, O.S.B., Brother Elijah Cirigliano, O.S.B., and Brother Gabriel Myriam Kurzawski, O.S.B.
Organ accompanists include Father Cyprian Constantine, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey, and Dr. Jason Keefer.
