Part of the Harvard Catholic Forum Sacred Music Series (In-Person and Livestreamed)
Presented by the Harvard Catholic Forum and St. Paul’s Choir School
Co-Sponsored by the Saint Benedict Institute
Sunday March 6; Lecture at 2:30pm, Service at 3:30pm EST
Livestream on HCF YouTube Channel
The Saint Paul’s Choir of men and Boys performs a polyphonic setting of psalms, hymns, and readings within a Sunday Vespers service. Music from North Italy, including Monteverdi’s renowned Dixit Dominus, evokes Verona’s Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore, an important inspiration for our setting in St. Paul’s Church, which will soon celebrate its hundredth anniversary.
In the lecture and discussion before the Vespers service, Professor Thomas Kelly, along with James Kennerly, FRCO, examines the history, context, and structure of vespers within the Church’s cycle of prayer, the use and importance of musical settings in a vespers service, the historical and ecclesial context of the music chosen, and the place of sung vespers in contemporary Catholic worship.
The St. Paul’s Choir of Men and Boys is associated with the St. Paul’s Choir School, founded in 1963 by Dr. Theodore Marier, the only Catholic boys’ choir school in the United States. The Boys’ Choir sings during term time at daily and Sunday Masses, and at a weekly Choral Vespers. The Choir has toured and performed throughout North America and Europe and made numerous recordings.
James Kennerly is Director of Music at the St. Paul’s Choir School and at St. Paul’s Harvard Square. Rooted in the English choir school tradition, he is an internationally known organist, vocalist, and director. Educated at Cambridge University, Mr. Kennerly was Organ Scholar at Jesus College and later at St. Paul’s Cathedral London. He has frequently given solo organ concerts throughout the U.S. and Europe.
Thomas Forrest Kelly is Morton B. Knafel Research Professor of Music at Harvard, where he was named a Harvard College Professor in recognition of his teaching and served as Chair of the Music Department. An internationally recognized authority on medieval and early modern music, and on the performance of music in historical settings, he has lectured widely throughout the U.S. and Europe. Among numerous books and articles for both scholarly and general audiences: Capturing Music. The Story of Notation (Norton,2014); The Practice of Medieval Music (Ashgate Variorum, 2010); and First Nights: Five Musical Premieres, (Yale, 2000). Professor Kelly received his PhD from Harvard, as well as diplomas from the Schola Cantorum in Paris and the Royal Academy of Music in London.