Cantata

On May 6 at the Sunday worship service, our choir will combine forces with the choir of First Parish in Needham to perform the Missa in labore requies by Georg Muffat. This work is a monumental polychoral mass scored for five choirs including: two vocal choirs, a trombone choir, a trumpet choir and a string choir.  Large scale polychoral works like this first appeared in Venice in the late 16^th Century, funded by the wealthy Doge and performed at St Marks.  By the mid 17^th Century they had a strong footing in Rome, and by the end of the century they were also appearing north of the Alps in Salzburg, funded by the astonishing wealth of the Archbishop of Salzburg.  Such large scale works as these were only performed on special occasions in places of great wealth, and it is only by collaborating and combining resources that we are able to mount such a production today. It may be the first time ever that a work like this has been performed during an actual church service in North America.  Don’t miss this unique opportunity.