A Service Featuring Ralph Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor Announced for St. Bart's Summer Festival

The 23rd annual Summer Festival of Sacred Music at St. Bartholomew's Church continues on Sunday, August 13, at 11 am with Ralph Vaughan Williams' Mass in G Minor for unaccompanied double choir.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was one of the most celebratEd English composers of the 20th century. Throughout his life, he strove to create works which were distinctly English, eschewing the influence of German composers, which grippEd English music throughout the 19th century. His style evolved by incorporating the modality and melodic shape of English folksong, imparting to his music a mystical and lyrical character, nostalgic but timeless.

His Mass in G Minor was composed in 1921 and was dedicated to Gustav Holst and his Whitsuntide Singers, who premiered the work in December of 1922. The work is strongly inspired by the English polyphony of William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, but infused with Vaughan Williams' individual brand of modal harmony and longing derived from folksong. R R Terry, who gave the first liturgical performance at Westminster Cathedral, best summed it up: "In your individual and modern idiom you have really captured the old liturgical spirit and atmosphere." St. Bartholomew's Choir will be conducted by William K. Trafka.

The Summer Festival of Sacred Music takes place each Sunday morning at 11 am at St. Bartholomew's Church during the summer months. At a time when most churches reduce their musical offerings, St. Bartholomew's Church provides outstanding sacred music sung by St. Bartholomew's Choir and Boy and Girl Choristers, two of New York City's most renowned choirs. Works include an array of mass settings from the 15th century to the present embracing a diversity of cultures from around the world. The music is sung as part of the Eucharist or Mass, the liturgical context for which it was composed. All Summer Festival events are free and open to the public.