Cappella Records is pleased to announce the September 23, 2022, release of Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas (Misa de las Américas), performed by the Benedict XVI Institute’s Choir and Orchestra, directed by renowned international conductor Richard Sparks.

The work extends the genre of the Missa solemnis: a sublime setting of a Traditional Latin Mass for choir and orchestra. Listeners will discover a new masterwork: a rich modern tapestry with serene Gregorian chants, folk melodies from 18th-century regions of México, and florid praises in Nahuatl, the language spoken by Our Lady of Guadalupe to San Juan Diego in 1531.

Benedict XVI Choir’s début recording is sung by some of America’s finest singers, many GRAMMY®-nominated. Sung in Latin, Spanish, and Nahuatl.

William P. Mahrt, editor of the Sacred Music journal, ends his extensive essay with “Variety, ingenuity, sheer compositional skill, and liturgical suitability have made these compositions in The Mass of the Americas destined to be classics.”

Mass of the Americas is one of three planned releases on Cappella Records produced by multi-GRAMMY® Award winner Blanton Alspaugh and the engineering team at Soundmirror. Soundmirror’s outstanding orchestral, solo, opera, and chamber recordings have earned more than 100 GRAMMY® nominations and awards, with releases on every major classical label.

Mass of the Americas is released on a Hybrid SACD in 2.0 stereo and 5.0 surround sound (DSM192K/24bit), recorded in DSD and downloadable to audio servers and devices. The accompanying booklet provides an extensive essay on the work, the full texts used in the composition, composer notes, full translations, and beautiful photography. Cappella Records is distributed by Naxos USA.