Fall 2008

10 CAROLS AND A MASS

Traditional Christmas Music from Romania
Missa Hodie Christus Natus Est by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)

The extended choral Mass of the High Renaissance was originally performed in sections, separated by the business of worship. The greatest of Italian sacred composers, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, produced over a hundred settings of the mass. The La Jolla Renaissance Singers will perform Palestrina’s sumptuous, double-choir mass Hodie Christus Natus Est(On This Day Christ Was Born). Between the movements, we’ll sing a selection of Romanian carols little known in America, songs influenced by the region’s pre-Christian heritage.

Spring 2009

The Personality of Henry Purcell

The year 2009 marks the 350th anniversary of the birth of Henry Purcell (1659-1695), the greatest composer of the English Baroque. During his short life, Purcell produced an astonishing variety of music: keyboard sonatas, solo songs, sacred anthems, bawdy rounds, incidental music for the stage, and the first great English opera.

The La Jolla Renaissance Singers will honor Purcell’s memory by performing a selection of his compositions for voice, including a concert version of the opera Dido and Aeneas.