St. James Cathedral choir & Orchestra presents Haydn: Nelson Mass & Te Deum

St. James Cathedral choir & Orchestra presents
Haydn: Nelson Mass & Te Deum with choral music by Mozart, Wesley & others.
Invite your family and friends!
General tickets: $30

Director of Music: Thomas Bell
Soprano: Ineza Mugisha
Mezzo: Christina Stelmacovich
Tenor: Charles Davidson
Baritone: Jorell Williams
For many of us, the three composers who dominate the Classical period in music history are Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. However, their music overshadows the fascinating music and lives of some of their less well-known contemporaries.
On Saturday, May 11th at 7.30 p.m. the Choir of St. James Cathedral performs the much-loved Nelson Mass and Te Deum of Haydn and Mozart’s hauntingly beautiful Laudate Dominum, setting these works beside the music of their friends and colleagues William Herschel, Marianna Martines, and Samuel Wesley.

The latter years of the eighteenth century were marked by both incessant warfare and a spirit of intellectual curiosity. Haydn’s magnificent Nelson Mass and his celebratory Te Deum were both written at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Both works employ the military instruments of the orchestra – the trumpets and drums – with arresting results, ensuring the lasting popularity of this music. Less well-known, however is the music of William Herschel, a German-British astronomer who discovered the planet Uranus and pioneered the use of larger telescopes, among his many achievements. He was also an accomplished organist, oboist and composer leaving a large body of attractive music. Of the other composers featured in the programme, Marianna Martines was an outstanding singer and pianist, a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. We sing her setting of Dixit Dominus.

The orchestra plays Samuel Wesley’s Sinfonia Concertante, a charming symphony which never fails to delight.

Host or Publisher St. James Cathedral Toronto