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SALVE REGINA COLLEGE, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
Vol. 18, No. 2
Play Triggers Denial Progress~ Faith Opposed
Berlioz ''Requiem~~
Performed By ANN LEPKOWSKI "Fantastique!" "Marvelous !" "Like Heaven on Earth!" These comments j oined wit h a tremendous ovation f or C. Alexander P eloqui n and his combin ed choruses after their first performance of Hector Berlioz' Requiem. The glee clubs of Boston College, P rovide nce College, and Salve Regina College, and the P eloquin Chorale (a small sin gin g group under t he direction of Mr. P eloquin) had spent long hours r ehearsing for this extravaganza, th e first of its kind ever hel d in Rhod e Island . On December 4, the Cathedr al of SS. Peter and P aul was filled to capacity with an audience eager to hear t he results. Ind eed th ey were excellent. The chorus of four hundred and sixty five voices was accompanied by over one hundred instruments, including f our brass bands and a full cymbal tympany contingent. The "Dies lrae" passed through remarkable changes of keys and climaxed the concert with a beautiful E fl at major chord . Preceding this was the strong, vibrant music of the "Tuba Mirum ," suggesting all the power and maj esty and glory of the Last Judgment. Ano•ther stirring hymn was the "Lacrymosa" symbolizing the sins of the day and adding a plaintive r eminder t hat man is r esponsible · for his act ions. The entire rendition demand ed exact, precise and mature direct ion. Everyone had complete confidence in Mr. P eloquin. These confidences were expressed by the first violinist, " he can cc.rry his own anywhere; by the Concert Master Conte, "I've seen Mr. Peloquin mature to an excellent conductor," and finally by tenor soloist Donald Sullivan who summed up all reactions, " I love working with Mr. Peloquin ."
Authorities Interpret Encyclicals An innovation on campus this year is the Faculty Seminar, under the direction of Sister Mary Eloise. Under consideration this year, is the Pontificate of Pope John XXIII as an Educational Concern. In October the seminar studied the social doctrine of Pope John from the perspective of Christian philosophy. This month, Mr. Joseph Cavanagh of Higgins, Cavanagh and Cooney law firm, will cover the implications of the concepts of justice and liberty in the encyclicals. The economic aspect of this topic will be taken up in January by Rev. Robert J . Ewing, S.J ., head of the Economics Department at Boston College. Rhode Island 's s enators, John 0. Pastore and Claiborne Pell, will examine the political impact of the thinking of Pope John on the national and in· ternational scenes, respectively. Lastly, the psychiatrist's evaluation regarding the encyclical's conce pt of the human person will be given by Dr. Ronald Sorvino of Newport. Sister Mary Jean said the program "provided an intellectual stimulation for f·a culty members and increased cooperation among them."
December, 1963
Written for Ebb Tide by Patricia Murray News Ed itor of the Bra ;ntree Sunday News
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Let Us In Sp,i rit Go By Rev. Paul C. Curran, O.P. Mter the angel's glorious an· nunciation and invitation to the lowly shepherds t o see "Christ the Lord," they went with haste on their pilgrimage to the m anger. They returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken to them. Let us in spiri<t go over to Bethlehem. Let us keep all the traditional, colorful pageantry of the nativity scene. Let us go there with a childlike faith and simplicity to ponder over the wonderful gif.t of a child who is born to us, a son who is given to us. He is not just given to his mother, he is given to us. Like the shepherds, we see through the eye of faith God's own son lying in the stable in the poverty of the flesh . Wha-t splendor to that flesh now! How ennobled it is by the Word taking it to himself! This first pilgrimage of ours is the beginning of the pilgrimage to heaven, where that tiny babe is now the blissful spectacle of the angels and saints in his most glorious humanity united to his divinity. The first pilgrimage urges upon us a constant journey until we attain the eternal Bethlehem, the everlasting Christmas. It de-
mands that we shall glorify and praise God for what we have heard and seen in faith , that that faith shall be translated into action , th at our works, under God , shall be gracious. If he has shown t he way, we must follow. If the way at times is not easy, let us consid er that mo th -~ r of the Word , who shows the way of a creature in perfect obedience, sacrifice and service. If the Son is the light of the world, we can in some dim way reflect that light by his gr ace. If the mother has been so perfect in her strong love for God , we can ask her h elp to do the will of h er son, the Word. Christmas is a time of peace for all men. If all men were f aithful to the spirit of peace after Chris•t mas, what a wonderful world we would live in! Christmas appeals to all. The response is up to each of us as individuals. We must keep the peace because we have the spirit of Christ. We must keep it at all costs. We will keep it wit h his merciful grace. Let us thank the adorable Word made Flesh for the grace of redemption , and his blessed mother for all she has done for us. A most blessed and happy Christmas to all!
SALVE REGINA COLLEGE Offers Prayers and Congratulations to Auxiliary Bishop Elect
BERNARD M. KELLY Almighty God, give heed to our entreaties, and by Th y power fulfill that which is to be done by our humble ministry, through Our Lord Jesus Christ. -Collect from th e Mass celebrat ed at the Consecration of a Bishop.
The Queen 's Players perform· ance of Royal Gamb it last week trigger ed a den ial t hat t he modern world is opposed to the Christian life. The Rev. Edward H. F lanner y, editor of the Prov idence Visitor, disagreed with German playwright Hermann Gressieker 's infere nce t hat man's effort to conquer t he world aro und h im cuts him off from the fa ith. Father Flannery told 350 t heatr egoers at Rogers High School audi· to r ium that Gressieker 's choice of He nry VIII as protagonist shaped t he play's black and wh ite view, positing a " pre-J oannes" estrangement betwee n God and man. He pointed out Gr essieker could not have said the same thing if he had picked He nry's Chr ist ian humanist contem por ar ies , Thomas More or Erasmus, to show what happens when man confr onts new d iscover ies about himself and nature. Joining Father Flannery in th e discussion after the two-hour performance, Sister Mary J ean , R.S.M., chairm an of the English Department, called atte ntion to t he role of Katar ina of Aragon, Henry's legitim ate wife, as spokesman fo r the Catholic f aith and as herald of a new age, wher e faith will cla im again its position in the center of life. Pointing to the garden scene where Henry confronts his form er wife in her own calm setting, Sister Mary J ean balances Katarina's peace and tranquility with the king's frenetic energy. She called him a complete egoist whose self love continually stifles the truth. Katarina, emblem of faith throughout the play, always r epresents the truth, Sister Mary Jean said , and always tries to pull Henry back from his self-impelled path to destruction. On the other hand, the audience was warned by Dr. Paul van K. Thompson, director of the Honors Program at Providence College and visiting lecturer at Salve Regina, not to confuse the Henry of the Royal Gambit with the historical English king. The real Henry, he said, was a reasonable man who took his ro'le as Defender of the Faith seriously and died confident he had played the part well.
Art Club Exhibits Newport Scenes Newport County citize:ts were invited to view the art work of the college art classes and Art Club members on Wednesday, December 18, in Great Hall. The exhibition consisted of paintings and drawings, many of them of Newport scenes, done in oil, water, pen and ink, as well as charcoaL Crafts, ceramics and Christmas decorations were also exhibited. General chairmen for the event were Constance Tobin, al'l . Irene Juechter. Serving as chairmen of various committees were Lorraine Mello, Barbara Natella, Nancy Lee, Agnes M. Donovan, Mary Donnelly, Dona Hackman, Claire Conley, Rhodie Renz, J. Starr Farrell, and Louise Scola.
Dr. Thompson recalled the in- :e fl ue nce of Goe the's F aust on Ger· ~ man wr iters and traced the Faus- ;t tian theme in the modern play. te Henry, like Faust, tried to get ) along without God , but died hav ing consumed experience as he destr oyed the women who loved h im - reduced to a f eeble, old man worri ed about his aches and pains. Only Katar ina, whose fait h never fai ls, and Henry's sixth and last wife, Kate Parr, the modern woman whose doubts have n ot yet destr oyed compassion, r emain un«cathed by He nry's victory over conscience. As Henry, Richard Needham races from scene to scene, destroying or der by constant movement, wh ile h is wives come and go, attracted like moths to fl ame. Without t he prop of silence, Henry's speeches rush out and r attle against the stillness Mary Corey br ings to her r ole as Katar ina of Ar agon . She stands as a symbol of duty and right conscience, but r emains Henry's wife and reta ins a wife's care for her husband. She sees through him and beyond h im, adding dimension to t he fl at allegorical structure Gressieker imposes on the play. Per sonifying physical love, Anne Boleyn , in Bonn ie Higgins' portrayal, learns even passion cannot contain Henry's drive to bend the world to his wi'll. The man whom she loves whips off his mask of apparent devotion because she fails to give him a son, and the pleasureloving girl goes to her death r epeating the Hail Mary. Calculation takes over openly when Henry seduces Jane Seymour, and Kathleen Grimes' supple , yielding move ments under score the horr.or of the baptism scene. The king tramples ove r the de ad body of the simple Jane, gloating over the son she has g iven him . From this point on, the irony of Henry's charm becomes a blatant sign that whate ver he touches wil'l wither. However, Henry's hardness is matched by the German Anna of Cleves he imports sight unseen from Germany. Eileen Sheehan's stoic r ealism eomes as a refreshing antidote to Henry's malignant plotting. Henry's pride in himself as a man cracks under the burden of Kathryn Howard's compelling conscience. Played with simplicity by Norma Harkins, the youthful Kathryn pricks Henry's armor by practicing what he has preached and then confessing to him that she has. And yet Henry dies, still uncoverted , as Sister Mary Jean points out, although his illusions are by then shredded by the keen intelligence of his last wife, Kate Parr. Jackalyne Killeen's vigor turns a clear light on solid fact Henry may have reshaped the world, but he has to die. Directed by Miss Joan David with an insight that gives Gressieker's pageant of decay a relevance the playwright did not infuse into the play himself, the Royal Gambit, as performed at Salve Regina, merited the seriousness with which the panel accepted it. Staged with preclSlon which fused meaning with the accoutre· ments of production, the Queen's Players' performance put drama squarely on the line as
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