The Choir of New College, Oxford - Agnus Dei: An Anthology of Sublime, Sacred Choral Music

A gorgeous anthology of famous Sacred Masterpieces performed by the Choir of New College of Oxford, conducted by Edward Higginbottom.  Recorded in New College Chapel, Oxford, England in 1996.

00:00 1 BARBER : Agnus Dei
08:00 2 FAURE : Cantique de Jean Racine
13:25 3 PALESTRINA : Kyrie (Missa Papae Marcelli
17:42 4 MOZART : Ave Verum Corpus
20:50 5 BACH : Jesus joy of man's derising -Jesus bleibet meine Freude
23:49 6 RACHMANINOV : Ave Maria
27:18 7 ELGAR : Lux Aeterna
31:50 8 GORECKI : Totus Tuus
40:14 9 MENDELSSOHN : Hear my Prayer
51:15 10 TAVENER : The Lamb
54:32 11 FAURE : In Paradisum (Requiem)
57:43 12 ALLEGRI : Miserere mei, Deus 

BBC Sacred Music Series Pt. 3 -Tallis, Byrd and the Tudors

Continuing this beautiful BBC documentary on sacred music, actor and former chorister Simon Russell Beale tells the story of Thomas Tallis and William Bryd, two Roman Catholic "musicians living in an age of uncertainty 500 years ago in England where only one religion was allowed, where worship was compulsory, and where every time a new monarch came to the throne, they changed the national faith." 

BBC's Sacred Music Series - Pt 2 of 4 'Palestrina and the Popes'

Continuing this beautiful BBC documentary on sacred music, actor and former chorister Simon Russell Beale explores the sublime contribution of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, "the Prince of Music" and the culmination of Renaissance polyphony.  Part 1 of this series can be seen here.  We will post the remaining two parts of this program over the next two Saturdays.

BBC's Sacred Music Series - Pt 1 of 4 'The Gothic Revolution'

The following is the first of a four part BBC documentary in which actor and former chorister Simon Russell Beale explores the flowering of Western sacred music.  It is a beautiful survey of "a thousand years of praise through song" and some of the greatest music "ever written for the human voice." We will be posting the rest of this documentary over the next three Saturdays.  

Like Lord Clark's landmark "Civilisation" documentary which we have posted previously, this series is a tribute to and reminder of the great patrimony of  Western, Christian civilization.

Thomas More College Reviving Gregorian Chant Through Choir, Summer Workshop

Over the past several decades, the use of sacred music in Mass has greatly diminished. Choirs have been dismissed, and polyphonic music has been abandoned.  Most Catholics today have had no exposure to Gregorian Chant—the type of music that the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says “holds pride of place because it is proper to the Roman liturgy.”

Pope Benedict XVI has been marked by new efforts to promote excellence in sacred music. In 2006, for example, the Holy Father said that, “An authentic updating of sacred music can take place only in the lineage of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.”

To answer the Church’s call for a renewal of sacred music, the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts announced today that it has launched several programs aimed at restoring an appreciation for the history and beauty of sacred music, as well as its role in leading to greater devotion and reverence to Christ during Mass. 

Sacred, Beautiful, and Universal: The Sacred Music Colloquium

You are invited to sing with and experience the Sacred Music Colloquium, the largest and most in-depth teaching conference and retreat on sacred music in the world.

Gregorian Chant has been called the most beautiful music this side of Heaven. But as Pope Benedict XVI and the Second Vatican Council have emphasized, it is also integral to Catholic liturgical life and should be heard and experienced with wide participation in every parish. The Church Music Association of America is working to bring about this ideal with its Sacred Music Colloquium.

The primary focus of the Colloquium is instruction and experience in chant and the Catholic sacred music tradition, participation in chant and polyphonic choirs, nightly lectures and performances and daily celebrations of liturgies in both English and Latin. You are there not merely as an attendee but as a singer in some of the greatest choirs you will ever experience, singing music that will touch your heart and thrill your artistic imagination — music that is integral to the Catholic faith.

Attendance is open to anyone interested in improving the quality of music in Catholic worship. Professional musicians will appreciate the rigor, while enthusiastic volunteer singers and beginners new to the chant tradition will enjoy the opportunity to study under an expert faculty.

The Sacred Music Colloquium XX will be held at Duquesne University, June 21-27, 2010. Registration information is available here.