James Testa is a native of Philadelphia. His music has come under a wide range of influences from the spare textures of the 12th century Hildegaard von Bingen to 19th and 20th century composers such as Faure and Durufle. His approach to composition is informed by the voice leading principles codified by Johan Sebastian Bach, and the elegance of Gregorian Chant where melody and tonality are unified.
He began his music studies at Catholic University of America and is a graduate of Temple University where he studied Theory with Paul Epstein and Bruce Archibald, and piano with Maryan Filar. He studied Composition with the Philadelphia composer Harold Boatright, the keyboard music of JS Bach with Temple Painter, and Gregorian Chant with Theodore Marier.
As Cantor at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul (1977-2002) he sang the Sunday liturgy and every Pontifical liturgy including the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979. He was also a regular soloist with The Music Group of Philadelphia (Sean Deibler), The Collegium Musicum of the University of Pennsylvania (Alexander Blachley), and the chamber choir In Clara Voce (Matthew Glandorf).
I wrote The New Psalmody for the Sunday service at the Cathedral-Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul in Philadelphia where I was principal Cantor from 1977 through 2002.
The Book of Psalms contains the prayers of the ancient Israelites. These prayers are found in all Judaeo-Christian scriptures as well as the Noble Quran.
The New Psalmody is a collection of lyrical settings of the psalms appointed for the Sundays and major feasts (e.g. Christmas, Holy Week, Easter) by the Church.
During the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976 I heard James Hanson’s masterful interpretation of the Cantor’s role in the liturgy. Hanson was an inspired musician and singer who animated the Psalm texts with lyrical and beautifully sung verses making their meaning clear to the Assembly, and enabling them to join in singing the antiphons with confidence. Hanson sang verses a capella and the organist, Michael Stairs, joined in on the antiphons.
Hanson’s approach to Psalm singing became a model for me and an inspiration. His musicianship, vocally and through clear gesture, revealed meaning. Nothing was vague or superfluous. Dr. Peter LaManna, Director of Music for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, was also greatly influenced by Hanson.
When I began working with LaManna at Ss. Peter and Paul in 1977, the liturgical reforms of Vatican II were in full effect. Music in the Church was flourishing with a revival of masterworks by Palestrina, Di Lasso, Victoria, Byrd, Tallis, and the entry into the repertoire of work of contemporaries including Domenico Bartolucci, Marius Monnikendam, Francis Poulenc, Benjamin Britten, Jean Langlais, Lukas Foss, Olivier Messiaen, Howard Hanson, and Leonard Bernstein among others.
Peter was himself a prolific composer. He encouraged me in my mission to illuminate the Psalm verses with lyrical expression and thereby engage the people more deeply in their meaning. Our approach was informed by the melodic elegance of Gregorian Chant but with a harmonic language that employed classical standard practice influenced by 20th Century harmonic elements.
Dr. La Manna and I both studied Gregorian chant with Theodore Marier who taught the Solesmes Method. In this Method the rhythmic structure of the chant is clear and is revealed in the notation. Gregorian melodies are constructed of metrical units of two or three notes that flow into each other freely without accent. The text provides the accent. In the New Psalmody, likewise, the musical lines are composed of two or three note units that flow into each other freely following the accents of the text.
Therefore, to avoid the complexity of notating and performing constantly changing meter, the New Psalmody is presented without time signatures; the singer(s) need only accent the text as they would in speech and the melody’s rhythm unfolds.
The Cathedral-Basilica hosted thousands of congregants in person and millions over broadcast media.
In 1979 a simple setting of Psalm 23 served John Paul II when he celebrated Mass for a vast assembly on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, and in 1998 an elaborate setting of Psalm 145 with a violin obbligato came forth later when we celebrated the anniversary of our Cardinal Archbishop inside the Basilica.
A few years earlier a rich setting of Psalm 89 was introduced at the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday with all the priests of the Archdiocese proclaiming, “Forever I will sing the Goodness of the Lord.” Another more ascetic version of Psalm 89 lit the darkness of the Vigil of Christmas. Christmas Midnight Mass, in all its mysterious joy, gave rise to a dance-like setting of Psalm 96, providing a moment of delight for all.
Psalm 104 is used for the Feast of Pentecost and this text inspired a more elaborate organ accompaniment that to me represented the movement of the Spirit in the Church. Psalm 103 was set for the 7th Sunday of Easter, Cycle B. The very close harmony I used in the second verse of this setting reflects the mystical imagery of the poetry which tells of the cosmic expanse of “…His kindness to all…” In the setting of Psalm 113 for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, I chose another highly chromatic accompaniment to exemplify the mystical nature of the poetry which speaks of the heavenly realms of the Lord and His exaltation of the poor. These highly chromatic settings of Psalm 103 and 113 are exceptional; most others are fairly diatonic.
The melodic content of The New Psalmody is based on step wise, chant like movement within a range comfortable for most professional singers. Clarity of voice and impeccable intonation are essential.
In performance at the Cathedral Basilica my singing was always amplified. I now believe that an acoustic approach is a more effective way to lead congregational singing. A schola of three to five singers introducing the antiphon and chanting the verses is far more conducive to participation by the assembly. Indeed, having the whole choir sing the verses with men and women alternating would also be effective.
During my time at the Cathedral Basilica, Philadelphia passed through a kind of Golden Age of liturgical music with artists like Matthew Glandorf at Old Saint Joseph’s, John Binsfeld at Christ Church, and Earl Ness at First Baptist. Matthew used the New Psalmody for Sunday services as well as my setting of the Latin Mass for Choir and Congregation.
The entire experience was so rich. In the first few years, I would perform a new piece every week and after all three cycles were completed, I continued to revise and rewrite settings. Indeed, during the compilation of the entire work I continued to edit and correct to produce the version now available to all.