St. Louis Jesuits

The St. Louis Jesuits, a group of Catholic composers who popularized a contemporary style of church music through their compositions and recordings in the 1970s and 1980s. The group, made up of Jesuit seminarians at St. Louis University, originally used acoustic guitars and pop-style melodies and rhythms to set biblical and other religious texts to music sung in English in response to the liturgical reforms of Vatican II.

Without intent, a groundswell of popularity took place when students, seminarians and women religious took stenciled mimeographed copies of their new music back to their communities where it became known as music by "The St. Louis Jesuits".

History

Before finishing their studies and leaving St. Louis University, the seminarians decided to collect and make a recording of their music so it would be available to others. Some of the music was recorded in the basement of Fusz Memorial Chapel, the rest at a local studio. This first collection of 58 songs, some dating back as early as 1964, was called, Neither Silver nor Gold. Later, this recording was issued as a four-cassette/LP set in 1974 by North American Liturgy Resources. It has since been remastered into a two CD set by OCP Publications.

Over time, Bob Dufford, S.J., John Foley, S.J., Tim Manion, Roc O'Connor, S.J., and Dan Schutte, and their music became known as the St. Louis Jesuits. At the time, all were members of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit order), however Manion would never complete his studies there or become ordained. He continued to collaborate with the group until 1984.

Pursuing different vocations and graduate studies afterward, the group reunited several times between 1975 and 1985 to write and record their various collections of music, published at the time by by North American Liturgy Resources and available now through Oregon Catholic Press.

As they continued their studies and time permitted, they presented numerous workshops and presentations about liturgy and liturgical music at conferences throughout the United States and Canada.

Their second recording, Earthen Vessels sold over one million albums, and as a result, beginning with hymnals such as Glory and Praise their music became standard repertoire in Catholic parishes across the country. Beginning in their height of popularity between 1975-`85 and continuing to this day, it is estimated that over 80% of the current Catholic hymnal contains either songs actually written by one or more members of the group or written in the style they pioneered.

By the early 1980s the music of the St. Louis Jesuits began to be widely used throughout English speaking Catholic parishes in other countries as well, and many of their more popular hymns continue to enjoy a wide penetration, not only finding their way into most Catholic hymnal publications, but those of many upline Protestant denominations such as Episcopalian, Lutheran and Presbyterian as well.

In addition, some hymns have even been translated into other languages such as Chinese, French, German, Korean, Polish, Spanish and Vietnamese, and have garnered wide acceptance in those areas as a result.

In 1980, all five members moved to Seattle, where they continued to study and compose new music under the direction of Kevin Waters, S.J. at Seattle University. Tim Manion left the group in 1984, to pursue other interests but later released a solo collection, There is a River. After their fifth album, The Steadfast Love, was recorded in 1985, the members began to release solo collections as the demands of their Jesuit vocations took them to different parts of the world. Dan Schutte left the Jesuit order in 1986, but like the others, continued to compose and publish solo collections of music.

In 2000, Dufford, Foley, O'Connor, and Schutte made a surprise appearance at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. This spurred them to write and record a collection of new music to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their collaboration. This recording entitled Morning Light was released in 2005 along with an anniversary coffee table book titled, "The St. Louis Jesuits: Thirty Years" Oregon Catholic Press 2006. Tim Manion, who no longer is writing liturgical music, sang on the anniversary collection.

Later life

All five continue to make rare appearances at various faith-based charity events, however they currently have no plans to record together. At present, John Foley, S.J. is the Founder and Director of the Stroble Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University and Dan Schutte continues to publish new music through Oregon Catholic Press and is Composer-in-Residence at the University of San Francisco as well.

Influence on other composers

Following the movement that began with the St. Louis Jesuits in the 1970s and 1980s, Marty Haugen, a Protestant, together with David Haas, became some of the most prolific composers of contemporary Catholic liturgical music. These outgrowths of the Saint Louis Jesuits are now widely-used in the U.S. but not without dissent from traditionalists of all ages. One of the main criticisms is that the musical style is similar to that used for children's musicals, thus trivializing the reverence of the Holy Mass, as well as relying on already-dated folk-stylings of the 1970s and '80s, once popular with the baby-boomer generation, some of which is now nearing retirement.

Recognition

• Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, University of Scranton, 1980.
• Doctor of Music, Honoris Causa, Creighton University, 2006.
• The Jubilate Deo Award, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, 2011.
• Numerous Grammy Nominations with The St. Louis Jesuits, 1976, 1977, 1987, 1980 and 2002.
• Alumni Merit Award, St. Louis University, 1981.
• Distinquished Alumni Award, Seattle University, 1983.

This list includes honors received as a group. Individual members of the group have also received numerous honors and awards independently.

Record albums

• Neither Silver Nor Gold (1974)
• Earthen Vessels (1975)
• A Dwelling Place (1976)
• Gentle Night: Music for Advent and Christmas (1977)
• Lord of Light (1981)
• The Steadfast Love (1985)
• Let Heaven Rejoice
• Lift Up Your Hearts
• May We Praise You
• Morning Light (2005)

Their music in contemporary Catholic culture

Many of the St. Louis Jesuits' compositions have become part of the standard repertoire for Catholics throughout the English speaking world. For many baby boomers, the St. Louis Jesuits' music was and continues to be a part of their journey of faith.

Today, they are among many musicians who compose Contemporary Catholic liturgical music and many attribute their use of scripture and accessible melodies as the beginnings of this style of music. Dan Schutte continues to write new music that finds itself in many of the newer edition hynmals.

External links

• Dan Schutte
• www.ocp.org
• www.PilgrimMusic.com
• Roc O'Connor, SJ
• http://liturgy.slu.edu/CFL/index.html The Center for Liturgy at St. Louis University

Sources

• Gale, Mike. "The St. Louis Jesuit: Thirty Years" Oregon Catholic Press 2006
• McDermott, Jim. "Sing a New Song: Part 2, The St. Louis Jesuits: Earthen Vessels." America, May 30, 2005. Online at [3].
• St. Louis Jesuits music available from Oregon Catholic Press
• St. Louis Jesuits news on Dan Schutte's website