“one of the Bay Area’s most indispensable arts groups” —Joshua Kosman, SF Chronicle
“[Magnificat’s] recreation of a Venetian Christmas Mass service presented by the San Francisco Early Music Society…was a stunning performance.” —Most Memorable Concerts of 2013, SF Classical Music Examiner
Cavalli,
Mass for Christmas
The San Francisco Early Music Society’s annual holiday concert proudly presents Magnificat performing a 17th-century Venetian Mass for Christmas Day, featuring Francesco Cavalli’s glorious Missa concertata. Cavalli worked over 50 years at Venice’s San Marco cathedral, first as a singer, then organist, composer, and finally maestro di cappella. In 1656, he assembled his great retrospective collection, Musiche sacre, from which this mass comes. The work is, brilliant, festive, joyous, and rich in the instrumental colors of strings and brass for which Venetian music was renowned. Magnficat, founded and directed by Warren Stewart, led the American revival of 17th-century music and remains one of the most acclaimed interpreters of this revolutionary repertory. Cavalli’s mass will be presented in full liturgical context, interspersed with motets and sonatas by Claudio Monteverdi, Giovanni Gabrieli and others, as well as all Gregorian chant for the feast day, in a complete musical reenactment of the third mass for Christmas day, as it might have been celebrated 350 years ago. Read more…
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 8:00PM
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
600 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 7:30PM
First Congregational Church
Dana at Durant, Berkeley
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 4:00PM
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
1111 O’Farrell Street at Gough, San Francisco
Buy Tickets
MAGNIFICAT: Clara Rottsolk and Jennifer Paulino, soprano; Andrew Rader and Clifton Massey, alto; Christopher LeCluyse, and Dan Hutchings, tenor; Peter Becker, bass; Rob Diggins and Jolianne von Einem, violin; Richard Van Hessel, Erik Schmalz, and Mack Ramsey, sackbut; John Dornenburg, violone; Yuko Tanaka, organ