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Passion: Music of a Thousand Years, The Choir of All Saints Cathedral
April 2, 2023 @ 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
‘PASSION: Music of A Thousand Years’ is a concert presentation of a millennium’s worth of stunningly beautiful choral music that will take place in Halifax on Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 4:00 pm.
Directed by Paul Halley, the Cathedral Choir of All Saints Cathedral in Halifax will showcase choral works in a fluid choreography that will surround the audience with powerful and ethereal music, sung
from various locations within the grand, landmark historic building that is the Cathedral Church of All Saints.
The music of this concert was written at points throughout the last one thousand years in commemoration of the forty days leading up to Easter, a period in the Church year known as Lent. The
formalizing of the season of Lent dates to the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E. Since that time countless poets and composers have taken inspiration from the biblical narratives of the Passion, the Psalms, and
Old Testament prophets, to create works of astonishing depth and beauty. The dramatic power of these texts has drawn out the most exquisite music from some of the greatest musicians over the last 1,000
years. From 11th century Gregorian chant, through Tallis and Byrd, and Shaker songs and African American Spirituals, to Poulenc and contemporary composers, the works on this program represent an
enormous range of expression. The centerpiece of the performance is Gregorio Allegri’s gorgeous setting of Psalm 51, “Miserere mei, Deus”, one of the most famous pieces of choral music every written. Composed in 1638 for the choir of the Sistine Chapel, the work is set for two antiphonal choirs who will be placed at a distance in this performance; the main choir will sing from the front of the Cathedral, with a solo quartet singing from the back. In each verse that the quartet sings, the first soprano part soars to a high ‘C’, which is possibly the main reason for the composition becoming so famous. The sharing of the twenty verses of the psalm among two choirs and a solo cantor make for a gorgeous effect when those forces are spread throughout the Cathedral, coming together only on the final phrase. The intricately polyphonic Renaissance work, “The Lamentations of Jeremiah” by Thomas Tallis, of which the choir will sing Part I, is a moving lament from a people displaced from their
homeland of Jerusalem, and is a piece apropos to the experience of refugees from war-torn countries around the world today.
“Civitas Sancti Tui” by the Tudor composer William Byrd, and Alonso Lobo’s “Versa Est In Luctum”, composed in 1538 for the memorial of Philip II of Spain, as well as a lovely arrangement of the Shaker song of humility, “Lay Me Low”, and the “Pater Noster” by Jacob Handl (1550-1591) are included in the program. In this latter composition, for two four-part choirs – one of sopranos and altos, the other of tenors and basses – Handl creates a call-and-response effect between the two choirs until they come together for salient moments in the text. The final ‘Amen’ is particularly glorious with cascading phrases sung throughout the eight parts culminating in a grand cadence. The performance culminates in Paul Halley’s lyrical “Jesu, The Very Thought of Thee”.
‘PASSION: Music of A Thousand Years’ takes place on Sunday, April 2nd at 4:00 p.m. at the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Halifax. A single show is scheduled, and seating is limited, so audiences are advised to get tickets early. Information and tickets may be found online at:
PASSION: Music of A Thousand Years Tickets, Sun, 2 Apr 2023 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite
