TMC presents a program of a cappella music, ancient and modern, for Good Friday

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir returns to the beautiful setting of St. Paul’s Basilica for its annual Good Friday concert of sacred choral music. This year, the Choir will present an all a cappella program, filling the Basilica with only the sound of 4-part and 8-part vocal harmony. There will be two performances: Wednesday April 12 and Good Friday, April 14, at 7:30 pm.

TMC Artistic Director Noel Edison has selected music for contemplation and reflection, bringing together ancient and modern works.   “The new has often been influenced by the old,” he says. “It’s like living in a modern house but with wonderful antique furnishings throughout. Both are worthy and both provide the sense of calm and personal reflection I love.”

The concert will begin with the 70-member Mendelssohn Singers in the loft performing three works, creating an emotional an immersive experience for the audience who will hear the music washing over them from above.  A patron at the 2016 Sacred Music concert commented: ”To have the sound wash over me in soft or in crashing tidal waves, is both moving and stimulating.” This year, music from the loft will include Allegri’s stunning Miserere.

The second half of the concert will see the full Toronto Mendelssohn Choir perform works from Lotti’s Crucifixus for 8 voices up to contemporary works by B.C. composer Sarah Quartel.

The program, under the baton of conductor Noel Edison and associate conductor Jennifer Min-Young Lee, is:

From the loft:
Allegri: Miserere mei, Deus
Pärt: The Deer’s Cry
Sanders: The Reproaches

From the body of the Basilica:
Lotti: Crucifixus for 8 voices
Cameron (arr.): Lux Aeterna (choral setting of Elgar’s Nimrod)
Mendelssohn: Nunc Dimittis
Lukaszewski: Nunc Dimittis
Quartel: Sanctum (1. Requiem aeternam and 2. Lux aeterna)
Willan: How they so Softly Rest
Willan: An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts

Sacred Music for a Sacred Space
Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30 pm
Good Friday, April 14 at 7:30 pm
St. Paul’s Basilica, 83 Power Street (one block west of Queen and Parliament streets)

Tickets: $35 & $50 ($35 & $45 for seniors); $20 VoxTix available for patrons 30 years and under.

New for this year, patrons can select their seats in advance and take advantage of the print-at-home option. Purchase tickets through RCM Tickets online or by phone at 416-408-0208.

For more information and to purchase tickets online, visit the concert webpage at: https://www.tmchoir.org/201617-season/sacred-music-for-a-sacred-space/

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Media contact:
Anne Longmore
marketing@tmchoir.org
416-598-0422, ext 224