Today is part 3 of our mini-series focusing on the Exsultet. If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the two previous episodes on the Exsultet, I highly encourage you to check them out as well. In week one we explored the historical context of the Exsultet, and in week two we worked on learning the Exsultet in the most musical and prayerful way, even if the person preparing the Exsultet may or may not have a strong musical background.
This week Tony Alonso (composer and Director of Catholic Studies at Emory University) reflects on the cultural and linguistic needs in a bilingual community: What is the best solution for the Exsultet when a parish speaks both English and Spanish? What are some of the things we need to consider? How do we truly include all who worship in our Church?
SHOW NOTES
Excerpts from the English translation and chants of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.
Bio: Tony Alonso
Tony Alonso is a Latin Grammy nominated composer of sacred music and a scholar whose work responds to the diverse realities of contemporary culture.
A Cuban-American Roman Catholic, Tony's compositions embrace multicultural musical expressions and reflect a commitment to strong ritual song. His music appears in compilations and hymnals across Christian denominations throughout the world. His "Mass of Joy and Peace" is one of the most widely sung Mass settings in the English-speaking world. In 2015, Tony's compositional work was recognized with an invitation to compose the responsorial psalm for the first Mass Pope Francis celebrated in the United States. In 2020, he was nominated for a Latin Grammy for his groundbreaking album "Caminemos con Jesús" (GIA Publications, 2020).
Tony's scholarly work lies at the intersection of liturgical theology and cultural studies. He has authored articles in journals such as Modern Theology, Worship, and Liturgy. In 2019, he was awarded the Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award for new scholars for the best academic essay in the field of theology within the Roman Catholic tradition by the Catholic Theological Society of America. His book Commodified Communion: Eucharist, Consumer Culture, and the Practice of Everyday Life (Fordham University Press, 2021) was awarded the 2021 Hispanic Theological Initiative Book Prize, an award that recognizes the best book written by a junior Latinx scholar on theology or religion each year.
Tony holds a Bachelor of Music in choral conducting from Northwestern University, a Master of Arts in theology from Loyola Marymount University, and a PhD in religion from Emory University. He is currently Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture at Candler School of Theology at Emory University where he also serves as the inaugural Director of Catholic Studies.
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