Liturgies
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Past Events
Baroque Reformation Vespers
Friday October 25, 2024 at 6:00pm
St. John's Lutheran Church
81 Christopher Street, New York, NY
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Dr. Janet Sora Chung, Organ, Co-artistic Director
​Jimmy Drancsak, Violin
Amneris Puscasu, Violin
Adam Young, Violoncello
Yanni Burton, Double Bass
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Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Soprano, Co-artistic Director
Michelle Repella, Alto
Andrew Yeargin, Tenor
Christopher DeVage, Bass​​
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At the end of October, 1517, the Augustinian friar Martin Luther voiced concerns about the Church in his hisoric "95 Theses". The ensuing movement of Protestant Reformation ignited the hearts of believers around the world for centuries. Luther's own theological, poetic, and musical legacy resounds strongly in the works of Baroque composers around Europe.
In this Baroque Reformation Vespers, we shared in festive congregational hymns, prayers, and readings, woven throughout with Reformation-themed vocal and instrumental performances by the Christopher Street Collegium.
J.S. Bach's Cantata 79, "Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild," composed for Reformation Sunday, shines with the grateful zeal of early Lutheranism, with vivacious instrumental lines and jubilant vocal movements of praise, thanks, and extolling the Lord as "sun and shield". A similar spirit of victory and confidence is conveyed in a contrasting cantata by Dieterich Buxtehude, "Der Herr ist mit mir," BuxWV 15, in C Minor, which dances through verses of Psalm 118 in homophonic declarations in dialogue with the strings, culminating in an energetic "Alleluia" section.
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The spirit of Lutheran Reformation is perhaps most famously captured in Luther's hymn, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress is Our God"), based on Psalm 46, "God is our refuge and strength". The vespers program featured Georg Philipp Telemann's choral setting of "Ein feste Burg," followed by congregational singing of the hymn. And in the only Italian piece on the program, "Deus noster refugium," (God our refuge," an aria setting of Psalm 46 by Girolamo Frescobaldi, we hearken to the Roman Catholicism of Luther's early years, while the same text reflects the continuity of biblical faith across the life of Luther and the universal church.
For the second year in a row, the Christopher Street Collegium performed Couperin's Leçons de Ténèbres for a vespers service that first touched many hearts at Holy Week 2023.
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Holy Wednesday, or "Spy Wednesday," marks the day when Judas Iscariot decided to betray Jesus. Its evening ushers in the three days of Tenebrae, meaning "darkness". For centuries the church celebrated Tenebrae liturgies for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings of Holy Week, focused on the betrayal, crucifixion, and death of Christ. These were often celebrated the night before, starting on Wednesday evening.
Our Baroque Tenebrae Vespers carried on this ancient tradition, featuring 15 readings from the Book of Lamentations, each followed by a sung version of the reading, in Latin, composed by François Couperin. His Leçons de ténèbres pour le mercredi saint were composed for Holy Wednesday, 1714, to be performed at the Abbaye Royale de Longchamp, by two sopranos, organ, and viola da gamba.
In this beautiful liturgy of lament, candles were gradually extinguished as the church recalled its ancient descent into darkness. This opportunity was all the more rare for Couperin's exquisite French Baroque expression of Jeremiah's ancient Lamentations.
Wednesday March 27, 2024 at 5:30pm
St. John's Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher Street, New York, NY
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Rev. Andrew C. Patty, Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church
Dr. Janet Sora Chung, Organ, Co-artistic Director
Adam Young, Viola da Gamba
Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Soprano, Co-artistic Director
Linda Tsatsanis, Soprano
This jubilant and joyful Eastertide Vespers featured cantatas by J. S. Bach, Christoph Graupner alongside stunning selections by Johann Hermann Schein, George Friederic Handel and more!
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Thursday May 4, 2023 at 6pm
St. John's Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher Street, New York, NY
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Dr. Janet Sora Chung, Organ, Co-artistic Director
Carmen Johnson Pajaro, Violin
Kako Miura, Violin
Maren Rothfritz, Viola
Adam Young, Violoncello
Charlie Caranicas, Trumpet
Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Soprano, Co-artistic Director
Michelle Repella, Alto
Andrew Yeargin, Tenor
Matthew Cramer, Bass
Holy Wednesday, or "Spy Wednesday," marks the day when Judas Iscariot decided to betray Jesus. Its evening ushers in the three days of Tenebrae, meaning "darkness". For centuries the church celebrated Tenebrae liturgies for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings of Holy Week, focused on the betrayal, crucifixion, and death of Christ. These were often celebrated the night before, starting on Wednesday evening.
Our Baroque Tenebrae Vespers carried on this ancient tradition, featuring 15 readings from the Book of Lamentations, each followed by a sung version of the reading, in Latin, composed by François Couperin. His Leçons de ténèbres pour le mercredi saint were composed for Holy Wednesday, 1714, to be performed at the Abbaye Royale de Longchamp, by two sopranos, organ, and viola da gamba.
In this beautiful liturgy of lament, candles were gradually extinguished as the church recalled its ancient descent into darkness. This opportunity was all the more rare for Couperin's exquisite French Baroque expression of Jeremiah's ancient Lamentations.
No tickets are required; seating is first-come, first-served.
Wednesday April 5, 2023 at 6pm
St. John's Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher Street, New York, NY
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Dr. Janet Sora Chung, Organ, Co-artistic Director
Adam Young, Viola da Gamba
Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Soprano, Co-artistic Director
Nola Richardson, Soprano
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This Baroque Lenten Vespers featured an interweaving congregational singing, spoken word, and choral-orchestral music reflecting the emotional range of Jesus's 40 days in the wilderness. The harmonious cries of Purcell's Funeral Sentences giving way to robust Lutheran hymns of penitence and submission, including exquisite harmonizations by Heinrich Schütz and J.S. Bach.
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Two solo cantatas -- Buxtehude's "Herzlich tut mich verlangen" (BuxWV 42) for soprano, and Bach's "Widerstehe doch der Sünde" (BWV 54) for counter-tenor, reflecting upon the believer's suffering, temptation, and ultimate triumph over sin.
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The program featured two contemporary works by renowned performers of sacred music -- the doleful exilic Psalm 137, "By the waters of Babylon," set stirringly by McNeil Robinson; and a short, celestial setting of "Jesu, meine Seelen Wonne" for voice and strings by the Bach Institute's Rudolph Lutz. The service was opened and concluded by a stunning viola prelude and postlude.
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Dr. Janet Sora Chung, Organ, Co-artistic Director
Carmen Johnson Pajaro, Violin
Amelia Sie, Violin
Kako Miura, Violin
Maren Rothfritz, Viola
Adam Young, Violoncello
Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Soprano, Co-artistic Director
Daniel Moody, Counter-tenor
Andrew Yeargin, Tenor
William Hawley, Bass
This Advent Vespers at St. John's (81 Christopher St.) met with an enthusiastic congregational response. In addition to congregational chorales, the Christopher Street Collegium performed Bach Cantata 61, Buxtehude's BuxWV100 ("Wachet Auf"), BuxWV52 ("In Dulci Jubilo"), and a Schein Magnificat. The evening began with a sublime prelude of solo viola.
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Click here to view the program notes.
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Dr. Janet Sora Chung, Organ, Co-artistic Director
Carmen Johnson Pajaro, Violin
Amelia Sie, Violin
Maren Rothfritz, Viola
Adam Young, Violoncello
Joe Jones, Bassoon
Audrey Fernandez-Fraser, Soprano, Co-artistic Director
Sarah Moga, Mezzo-Soprano
Andrew Yeargin, Tenor
Bryan Murray, Baritone