The Cathedral Of St. John The Divine Welcomes Choral Ensemble Musica Sacra For MULTITUDE OF VOYCES

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine's 2022-2023 season of Great Music in a Great Space continues with Multitude of Voyces, a performance featuring choral ensemble Musica Sacra under the baton of Director of Cathedral Music Kent Tritle, on Tuesday, April 18 at 7:30 pm, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street).

The concert draws from great works of composers ranging from J.S. Bach to contemporary stars. Bach's wondrous motet Jesu, meine Freude, remarkable for its musical architecture, shines alongside music by women composers of the past and present, from the Stabat Mater of Sister Sulpitia Cesis to the New York premiere of Kerensa Briggs' "Hear my prayer," and including New York-born composers Rani Arbo and Melanie DeMore.

Prior to the performance, at 6:45 pm audience members are invited to enjoy a pre-concert recital by the Newark Boys Chorus. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Musica Sacra's website. For more details and information on all the Cathedral's programs and services, visit stjohndivine.org.

PROGRAM

Musica Sacra

Kent Tritle, conductor

Isabella Leonarda: Alma Redemptoris Mater
Kerensa Briggs: Hear my prayer (New York Premiere)
Sister Sulpitia Cesis: Stabat Mater
Maria Xaveria Peruchona: Cessate tympany, cessate praelia
Ethyl Smyth: Komm süsser Tod
Amy Beach: Lord, now lettest thou (Nunc dimittis)
Melanie DeMore: Blessed be!
Rani Arbo: Crossing the Bar
J.S. Bach: Jesu, meine Freude
Undine Smith Moore: We shall walk through the valley

Since its founding in 1964 by conductor Richard Westenburg, the mission of Musica Sacra has been to create definitive, professional, choral performances of the highest caliber for the widest possible audience. It supports its mission by presenting concerts, recording, commissioning and performing new choral works, collaborating with other top tier performing arts organizations, and educating audiences, students, and the general public in the appreciation and history of choral music.

The story of Musica Sacra, the longest continuously performing professional chorus in New York City, is the story of a dazzling past, a thriving present, and a vibrant future. It's a tale of six decades of brilliance, every performance filled with new discoveries; profound statements made simply and elegantly. Whether a performance of the great choral masters of the past or the contemporary repertoire of today, Musica Sacra stands alone in its ability to positively change one's perception of choral singing forever.

Revived in 2011, Great Music in a Great Space reprises the legendary concert series first held at the Cathedral in the 1980s. Great Music in a Great Space presents choral, orchestral, and instrumental music, in the magnificent, deeply spiritual setting of the world's largest Gothic cathedral. The beloved holiday traditions of the Christmas Concert and New Year's Eve Concert for Peace are an integral part of our concert series. Joined by Rose of the Compass, Musica Sacra, and the Oratorio Society of New York, the Cathedral Choirs, Orchestra, and a remarkable artistic team of organists and soloists bring the beloved space of the Cathedral to life with this transcendent music.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is chartered as a house of prayer for all people and a unifying center of intellectual light and leadership.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cathedral has responded to changing needs in the local community and across the city and state. People from many faiths and communities worship together in daily services held online and in person; the soup kitchen serves roughly 50,000 meals annually; social service outreach has an increasingly varied roster of programs to safely provide resources and aid to the hardest-hit New Yorkers; the distinguished Cathedral School prepares young students to be future leaders; Advancing the Community of Tomorrow, the

renowned preschool, afterschool and summer program, offers diverse educational and nurturing experiences; the outstanding Textile Conservation Lab preserves world treasures; concerts, exhibitions, performances and civic gatherings allow conversation, celebration, reflection and remembrance-such is the joyfully busy life of this beloved and venerated Cathedral.