My Upcoming Choral Concerts - They're Free!
Come and cheer us on as we tackle Schubert, Palestrina and a magnificent Magnificat
My upcoming weeks are going to be a real adventure!
The St. Louis Choir is joining the new Avanti Chamber Orchestra on June 1 for Schubert’s Mass in G and the Magnificat of Roland Martin.
And after that, over the next two weeks, the St. John Paul II Schola Cantorum — I sing with them too — will be paying tribute to the great Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
Here is my schedule:
📍 5 p.m. Sunday, June 1 — St. Louis Choir with the Avanti Chamber Orchestra
Schubert’s Mass in G + Roland Martin’s Magnificat
📍 5 p.m. Sunday, June 8 — St. John Paul II Schola Cantorum
“Palestrina 500” tribute at St. Louis Church
📍 3 p.m. Sunday, June 15 — Schola Cantorum reprises “Palestrina 500”
Our Lady of Victory Basilica, Lackawanna
And now I will tell you briefly why you need to come hear us.
The St. Louis Choir Concert, June 1
The Schubert is brimming with those incredible melodies Schubert is known for. The other altos and I have talked about how this Mass requires the kind of vocal virtuosity from us that we do not often encounter. The “Sanctus” is particularly challenging, with one line that runs steeply up into soprano range, and then steeply down to tenor range.
That won us a compliment from our director, Frank Scinta, at a recent rehearsal. He said, “I really don’t know how you’re able to do that.”
And we were all looking at each other thinking, We don’t know how we’re doing it either!
The Martin has been a challenge, however now that it is coming together, the singers are agreeing it is a pleasure to sing. It’s an exciting piece and should be thrilling with the orchestra.
Some years ago I interviewed Roland Martin for The Buffalo News about his “Adamic Songs.” I really enjoy how he explained his work process.
"I pace like crazy," he told me. "I do laps around the house. You get real nervous and fidgety. You can't sit still. When you're trying to work something out, you're full of nervous energy. You've got to move.
“Sometimes I just sit at the piano, slapping away at something endlessly until it works into what it needs to be. Even though I'm pretty conservative as a composer, I'm pretty uncompromising."
I would say Martin’s “Magnificat” is what it needs to be — and believe me, I know it inside out. If you are afraid of “new” music, if you have had bad experiences with it that scared you off, I totally understand. However you will like this music.
The St. John Paul II Schola Cantorum Concerts, June 8 and 15
These Sunday concerts, while they include a variety of music, focus on the music of Palestrina, a late Renaissance composer.
I remember the first time I heard Palestrina. I will never forget it. I had always heard of him, however I did not know his music. And one evening, I was out at UB hearing a concert of contemporary music. Steve Reich was in town, and the program included video that I found very interesting — it gave me new ideas about storytelling, how you could frame a story, and as I went out to the parking lot afterwards, my head was full of all that.
Then this music came out of the radio — I had it set to WNED, the classical station — and it just stopped me in my tracks. It sounded as if it was drifting down from heaven. It was luminous, otherworldly.
I knew right away: This is Palestrina.
This has to be Palestrina.
And sure enough. And I decided to catch up on my Palestrina. And now I am doing that in a big way. The Schola Cantorum is a real challenge for me. There are only 12 people besides me in the group. They are wonderful singers and I am practicing round the clock trying to catch up.
It’s a challenge but I love the music so much. I always remember that night in the UB parking lot.
If you caught Pope Leo XIV’s first Mass, the music included Palestrina’s “Sicut Cervus.”
Tremendous music. Otherworldly.
Join me at my concerts — they’re free. If you go, let me know what you think.
It will be an adventure, for all of us!
Sunday Edition: One Month, Two Choirs, Four Concerts, No Escape
Angels have appeared at St. Louis Church. I saw them for the first time this morning — two marble figures, standing at the foot of the aisle, each holding a vessel of holy water.
Mary Kunz Goldman is known in Buffalo for having written the Buzz Column, a popular feature in The Buffalo News, for many years — as well as another hit column, “100 Things Every Western New Yorker Should Do At Least Once.” She is the author of two books, “Pennario” — about her friendship with great Grammy-winning pianist Leonard Pennario — and “Sketches of Buffalo.” Enjoy her independent Substack publication at MaryKunzGoldman.Substack.com. New stories appear just about every day!