Fr. Clarence-Rufus J. Rivers (1931-2004) was a pioneering priest and liturgist, artist, composer, author, presenter and activist. Fr. Rivers was the first African-American person to be ordained to serve the Cincinnati Archdiocese in 1954. He was associate pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Cincinnati, where he experimented with composing music for the new English-language liturgy out of his own tradition of African-American sacred song. In doing so, Fr. Rivers “single-handedly started a revolution” in Catholic liturgical life and music, wherein composers felt free to compose music out of various folk traditions for Catholic liturgy. The result has profoundly shaped the way Catholic liturgical music sounds in North American today.
Emily Strand was the last person to academically interview and study Fr. Rivers’ life and work before his death in 2004. He forms the subject of her Master’s thesis for the University of Dayton, and his life and work is a major inspiration for her own ministry in liturgy and music.
Read Fr. Rivers’ 2004 obituary here.
Meet Father Rivers podcast launch
November 2021 saw the launch of a new podcast, created and co-hosted by Emily Strand (with Notre Dame Rector Eric T. Styles) called Meet Father Rivers.
From the official press release:
“The podcast seeks to introduce Fr. Rivers to Catholics of any color who have never heard of Rivers or the profound impact he made on the way Catholic worship looks and sounds today.
“Created and co-hosted by Emily Strand (of the podcasts Beyond the Words and Potterversity), Meet Father Rivers seeks out individuals who knew Rivers at all stages of his career—from the youthful optimism of his early years to the disillusionment and isolation he seemed to experience toward the end of his life. Strand and guests dialogically uncover hidden truths of Rivers’ (and their own) personal history, revealing both the gift of Blackness and the impact of racism and oppression—historical and ongoing—in the American Catholic Church.
“Strand, who met Rivers while writing her Master’s thesis about him for the University of Dayton just before his death, takes a “trail of breadcrumbs” approach to the podcast’s design, with each episode’s guests leading her to others with stories to tell about Fr. Rivers. In Episode 5 (forthcoming), this approach leads Strand to Black Catholic liturgist, writer and Notre Dame Rector Eric T. Styles, who was also mentored by Rivers, and who joins Strand to co-host subsequent episodes.”
Listen:
Stream or download episodes at meetfatherrivers.libsyn.com, on Apple Podcasts, or anywhere podcasts are found. New episodes appear at the end of every month.
Connect:
E-mail: MeetFatherRivers@gmail.com
Twitter: @RiversPodcast
Facebook: @MeetFatherRivers
Instagram: @riverspodcast
Be part of the show:
Meet Father Rivers invites anyone with a story to tell or a witness to share about Fr. Clarence Rivers’ influence on their ministry, music or spirituality to please contact the show. You could be our next guest!
I met Fr. Rivers and spent some time with him
many years ago when I started out as a church musician. Please view some personal reflections.
Where can I buy DVDs with Father Rivers’s music?
Thanks for visiting, Carmelita! Unfortunately Fr. Rivers’ music is not available for purchase. There are some historic recordings of his compositions (featuring his vocal performance) on YouTube. Simply search for “Fr. Clarence Rivers” and much of the American Mass Program and a few others come up. Happy listening!
I too am interested in purchasing DVDs with Father Rivers’ music.
Worth mentioning is the Newport Jazz Festival award given to Father’s “Jazz Mass.” At the CFM Convention at Norte Dame many summers ago, the Mass was presented, and sung by volunteer members. Can you imagine the privilege of learning to sing the Credo in English, with the composer teaching us?!
We bought the excellent recording of the Mass, with a Classical rendition as well as the Jazz rendition. It was loaned to an eager African-American liturgical musician, friend and fellow CFMer when we returned home to Long Island, and got lost in the intervening years.
That CFM convention must have been more than 50 years ago.
Father Rivers was an extraordinary talent.
I was introduced to Father Rivers music some 60yrs ago, when I was in high school. I loved the way he put the mass songs into negro spiritual form. Could you send me info of how to get a CD of his mass songs.
Frank, I wish I could, but his music is currently out of print and unpublished. We’re working on it, stay tuned.