Pastoral musicians give posthumous honor to Taize composer

Published: 2006-07-12

STAMFORD, Conn. (CNS) -- The National Association of Pastoral Musicians presented its "Jubilate Deo" award posthumously to Jacques Berthier of the Taize ecumenical monastic community in France during the association's June 27-30 Eastern regional convention in Stamford. In presenting the award, Franciscan Sister Judith Kubicki, board chairwoman, praised both Berthier and the brothers of Taize for "promoting a style of congregational song that combines excellence with accessibility and for inviting us not only to imagine, but to experience what reconciliation and Christian unity might one day look and sound like." The award was accepted by Brother Jean-Marie of the Taize community, who separately had addressed the 900 convention participants. Berthier was born in 1923 in Auxerre, France. In 1961 he was appointed organist at St. Ignace, a church in Paris, where he worked until his death in 1994. In all, Berthier composed 232 works in about 20 different languages. The first English piece was "Jesus, Remember Me," which remains popular among singers of Taize music.

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