William Byrd Festival: Solemn Mass (1970 Missal) for the Vigil of the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Free (free-will offering)
Join us at the Holy Rosary Church for Solemn Mass (1970 Missal) for the Vigil of the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, featuring Byrd's Mass for Five Voices sung by Cantores in Ecclesia and directed by Blake Applegate. No-cost admission. Free-will offering.
About the Festival: The Annual William Byrd Festival returns to Portland this year – featuring services sung by Cantores in Ecclesia, directed by Blake Applegate; lectures given by leading scholars Kerry McCarthy, William Mahrt, and Katie Bank; and illustrated recitals by ensembles directed by internationally renowned Byrd experts Ross Duffin and William Dawes. Mark Williams, Informator Choristarum and Fellow in Music at Magdalen College, Oxford, returns to Portland to give a recital on the organ of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, and direct the closing concert which will include a number of Byrd's most famous motets as we mark the 400th anniversary of his death in 1623.
Mark Williams, Informator Choristarum at Magdalen College, Oxford and Artistic Director of the Byrd Festival, writes that "This year's Festival sees all the usual fixtures, including lectures, services and concerts, plus some exciting extras, including two short illustrated recitals, led by Byrd experts, Ross Duffin (of Case Western University) and William Dawes (of Oxford University, and one of the founding members of the early music ensemble, Stile Antico). In this anniversary year, as we mark 400 years since the death of the composer who has been the focus of our festival for over 25 years, I greatly look forward to this annual celebration of some of the most beautiful music to come out of England in the Renaissance era."
About Cantores in Ecclesia
Cantores in Ecclesia was established in 1983 at St. Patrick's Church through an arrangement with its pastor, Fr. Frank Knusel, Bishop Paul Waldschmidt of the Archdiocese of Portland, and Dean Applegate, the choir's founding director. Its first weekly Latin Mass was on the Feast of Corpus Christi, for which it sang William Byrd's Mass for Five Voices and selections from his Gradualia (1605), foreshadowing a special relationship with the music of Byrd which has continued to this day.
In 2002, the choir became independent from the parish of St. Patrick and was incorporated as Cantores in Ecclesia, Ltd., a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission, however, remained unchanged: the restoration of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony to the church's liturgy. After several years at Immaculate Heart Church, Cantores in Ecclesia became the choir in residence at St. Stephen's Church in December, 2007. In March 2010 the directorship of the choir was turned over to Blake Applegate, with his father continuing as managing director of the Byrd Festival and chairman of the choir's Board of Directors.
Cantores in Ecclesia's "season" is year-long. The children's choir, rehearsing on Mondays, and the adult choir on Thursdays, provide music for St. Stephen's weekly sung Latin Mass, an extensive and energetic commitment of time and talent. With a choral repertoire from early music through the 20th Century, they are dedicated to offering the very best in Catholic polyphony with an emphasis on unaccompanied Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony.
Cantores in Ecclesia has sung in concert and for liturgies at home and abroad, including tours to Mexico, Spain, France, England, and Italy. In addition to its weekly schedule, the choir prepares sacred concerts and has recorded compact discs independently and for Oregon Catholic Press. Featured in print media and on the internet, with articles in BBC Music Magazine (August 1997), Brainstorm (February 2004), and The Early Music Review (2008), Cantores in Ecclesia has established itself as a leader in liturgical performance, winning loyal supporters at home and gold medals in international competition. One of the highlights of the choir's commitment to liturgical and musical excellence is each August's William Byrd Festival, which since 1997 has brought guest conductors, lecturers and musicians to Portland for two full weeks of the Masses, organ music, madrigals and motets of the choir's old friend and inspiration, Renaissance composer, William Byrd.
The principal service of Cantores in Ecclesia, however, has been and will remain the integration of sacred music and liturgy. At its heart is the ancient sung prayer of Gregorian chant, supported by the sacred music of great masters such as Palestrina, Victoria, and Byrd. In this respect, Cantores in Ecclesia has changed very little since its inception: a choir fully dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony in liturgical context within the Latin Mass of the Catholic Church.
http://www.cantoresinecclesia.org/