Summer Festival of Sacred Music Continues with Haydn Missa Sancti Joanne de Deo

By: Aug. 12, 2017
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

The 23rd annual Summer Festival continues on Sunday, August 27, at 11 am with a performance of Franz Joseph Haydn's Missa Sancti Joanne de Deo.

The Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo was composed for the Barmherzige religious community and named for its founder, St. John of God. Also called "The Brother Hospitallers of St. John of God," the organization runs hospitals throughout Austria to this day. Haydn (1732-1809) sang as a boy chorister in their church in Vienna and, many years later, wrote this work on commission from the Brotherhood.

It is sometimes known as the "Kleine Orgelmesse" ("Little Organ Mass") because of the extensive organ obbligato which accompanies the soprano solo in the Benedictus. As in several of his Masses, Haydn sets the longer Gloria text according to a practice (sometimes called "telescoping") in which several clauses of the text are sung simultaneously in different voices. Thus the Gloria is only 31 measures long and lasts less than a minute.

St. Bartholomew's Choir will be conducted by William K. Trafka. Jason Roberts will be the organist.

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.

St. Bartholomew's Church is located at the corner of Park Avenue and 51st Street. Subway: 6 to 51st Street. For more information, call (212) 378-0222 or visit stbarts.org/summerfestival/ for the complete Summer Festival schedule.



Videos