With lush dulcet tones that captivated an audience of nearly 500 people, the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School presented a July 24 concert at the Franciscan Monastery in Northeast Washington as part of its tour of the United States.
Titled “Sacred Treasures of England, Spain, and Italy,” the concert featured motets by Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina, Giovanni Gabriel, John Shepherd and other renowned Renaissance composers of sacred music.
“This is the grandest way we could honor our God,” said Franciscan Father John Puodziunas, who welcomed the choir to the monastery. He requested that no applause interrupt the concert so that the 12 pieces of sacred music be taken together as a prayer.
The nearly 40-voice boys’ choir, under the direction of Charles Cole, offered a clear, pure and pitch-perfect presentation of polyphonic and unaccompanied sacred music that has inspired the faithful for nearly 500 years.
The music – sung in Latin – was composed to celebrate Easter, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the Feast of Corpus Christi and other religious celebrations.
Audience members sat in silence, allowing the sacred music to echo throughout the church. At the end of the performance, they awarded the boys’ choir with a loud and prolonged standing ovation.
Founded in 1996, the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School is composed of Catholic boys aged 7 to 18. It has released several “Sacred Treasures” CDs and has contributed to the soundtracks of numerous films including the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series of movies. The choir has performed in the United States, the Vatican and other countries throughout Europe.
The Schola Cantorum is closely associated with the Aid to the Church in Need, offering concerts and performances to raise money for that charity, which supports persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
“This is close to our hearts,” Father Puodziunas said of the charitable efforts of the choir. “May peace come there (to the Middle East) soon.” He also presented each of the singers with a rosary crafted of olive wood in the Holy Land.
This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Palestrina – arguably the most famous and most talented of all Renaissance sacred music composers – and the choir ended its concert with Palestrina’s Dum complerentur, a stirring motet which was composed for the Feast of Pentecost.
The program notes indicate that the piece was written as “a vivid depiction of the great sound coming down from heaven.” The choir’s performance of that piece and the other sacred works was, in return, a great sound rising up to heaven.
Father Puodziunas thanked the Schola Cantorum “for sharing your talents and your voices to inspire us, to teach us and to bring us closer to ourselves and to our God.”
Aficionados of sacred music of the Renaissance or anyone who enjoys choir music presented with near perfection will have two additional chances to hear the Schola Cantorum in Washington.
On Saturday, July 26, the Schola Cantorum will participate in a sung Mass and recital at 4:30 p.m. at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Ave., N.E., Washington. The next morning on Sunday July 27, the choir will sing at the 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Thomas Apostle Church at 2665 Woodley Road, N.W.
The Washington performances conclude a U.S. tour for the choir that included stops in Michigan and New York.
