Sydney composer John Burland will have two of his liturgical songs performed and recorded in the United States to support the US Catholic bishops’ promotion of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Mr Burland is the education officer for archdiocesan liturgical music at Sydney Catholic Schools.
His “Jesus, Bread of Life” and “Come to the Table” were selected by major religious publisher Bayard Inc to be recorded by a primary school choir and an adults’ choir in Los Angeles and filmed in June with the support and participation of staff from across the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
“Come to the Table” will also be offered with a Spanish and Vietnamese translation.
They will be shared nationally as a contribution to the United States Catholic Bishops Conference call for education and emphasis on the Real Presence and are expected to be used as a formative resource for the bishops’ planned 2024 Eucharistic congress.
John Flaherty, director for pastoral liturgy and music at Loyola Marymount University, will be the musical director for the project.
Mr Burland thanked Phil Anquetil from SCS’s arts team who co-wrote the music to “Jesus, Bread of Life”.
He said he is grateful for the assistance of people across Sydney Catholic Schools and the Archdiocese of Sydney who reviewed and gave advice on the lyrics of both hymns.
They included dean of St Mary’s Cathedral Fr Don Richardson, Dr Robert Haddad and colleagues from the Mission and Identity team at SCS and Milad Kahlil and Catherine Hilder from the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation.
“It is a great honour to be part of this project and I’m grateful that my journey as a Catholic musician and composer has been shaped and nurtured by so many colleagues and clergy within the Sydney archdiocese,” Mr Burland said.
“Through their support and belief in what I do, I have had the opportunity to extend my music ministry to other parts of the world”.