An homage to the 175th anniversary of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the Sisters of Holy Cross with the premiere of a new composition will highlight a three-day conference on sacred music at the University of Notre Dame.
Scottish Composer James MacMillan and conductor Carmen-Helena Tellez will debut “Cum Vidisset Jesus,” a commissioned motet in honor of the Sisters, at an 8 p.m. concert Sept. 15 in Leighton Hall of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. The sacred cantata “Seven Last Words from the Cross” also will be performed. The Notre Dame Festival Chorus and Orchestra and the Aguava New Music Studio are participating.
The concert is on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, patroness of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
MacMillan and Tellez will offer a pre-concert conversation at 7 p.m. at DeBartolo. There will be an after-concert reception at McKenna Hall at 9:15 p.m.
The concert is free, but tickets are required. They are available on the DeBartolo website.
Our Lady of Sorrows also will be honored at a concert Sept. 14, also at DeBartolo.
Emily Snow, music historian from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, will offer a pre-performance lecture at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 in Leighton Hall, where there will be an 8 p.m. concert in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows. Alexander Blachly and the Pomerium Ensemble will perform Renaissance music on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tickets are free, but are required, and are available by visiting DeBartolo’s website.
Other concerts that are part of the sacred music conference include:
- Vespers at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at 8 p.m. Sept. 13 led by Rev. Peter Rocca, C.S.C. The service will include a performance of James MacMillan’s “Magnificat” with the South Bend Chamber Singers and Conductor Nancy Menk. The Saint Mary’s College ensemble in-residence and organist David Eicher also will perform.
- There will be a sacred chamber recital by organists Craig Cramer and Paul Walker with baritone Stephen Lancaster in Reyes Choral and Organ Hall at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center from 4 to 5 p.m. Sept. 14, followed by a festival Mass with Fr. Rocca at the Basilica.
For more information on the sacred music conference, check out the ND Department of Theology website.
