A Choral Feast

Sunday 11 am services designated A Choral Feast present the opportunity to experience great sacred choral repertoire, often heard in concert halls, within their original context of a worship service. These services are held about once each month and celebrate a specific theme, composer, or present a major choral work, often with instrumentalists joining St. Bartholomew's Choir. Our magnificent Aeolian-Skinner organ is always a featured part of our musical offerings, including approximately ten minutes of solo organ music before the service, as well as a featured work to conclude worship.

Many of the great composers of the western musical canon have written music for use in worship, including major works such as Masses and Cantatas. Over the years, St. Bartholomew's has distinguished itself as a musical destination by including hundreds of such works, often with chamber orchestra, as a part of regular communal worship. Through A Choral Feast, St. Bart’s endeavors to present these great masterworks as they were originally intended by their creators: offered not in concert, but as a vehicle for worship, in gratitude to God.

Upcoming

Sunday, June 30

Music for Pride Sunday

The corpus of liturgical art by LGBTQ+ poets and composers is so rich that most services at St. Bart’s include prayer, poetry, hymnody, choral and organ repertoire from these artists. The music at this service makes a special feature of this repertoire, with an emphasis on contemporary composers. Missa Brevis (2013) is one of three works commissioned from David Conte by St. Bartholomew’s Church and premiered by St. Bartholomew’s Choir and Organist and Director of Music William Trafka. Conte has been Professor of Composition at the San Francisco Conservatory since 1985. Joseph N. Rubinstein studied at Columbia University and The Juilliard School. His compositions have been presented by Fort Worth Opera Festival, The Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s art song recital series, Renee Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall, Spoleto Festival USA, and commissioned from The Juilliard School, Essential Voices USA, The Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, and The Urbana Public Arts Council, among others. Since 2016 he has been a member of St. Bartholomew’s Choir. Ned Rorem (1923-2022) was considered the leading American composer of art song of his time. He was influenced by Les Six, particularly Francis Poulenc, as can be heard in today’s short anthem. Rorem taught at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music and won the Pulitzer in 1976. A special thank you to the supporters of St. Bart’s Sacred Music Campaign whose generosity makes possible the additional rehearsals and resources needed for these services throughout the year.

May 7, 2023
Music of George Frideric Handel with orchestra

April 23, 2023
Schubert's Mass in G with chamber orchestra

Organ music by Bach and Gade
Watch the service