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10/27/08

SLU Early Music Singers To Present All Souls Day Mass

CANTON - St. Lawrence University's Early Music Singers will present the earliest composed setting of the Requiem mass, by 15th-century Flemish composer Jean Ockeghem, in its intended setting, an All Souls Day mass. The Reverend Douglas J. Lucia will be the celebrant for this special mass, sung in Latin, on Sunday, November 2, at 2 p.m. Gunnison Memorial Chapel.

The Singers will also sing chants specific to the Requiem mass, including the famous "Dies irae," often quoted in orchestral works by such composers as Berlioz and Liszt. The Ockeghem Requiem itself is based on early Christian chants for this mass, the top voice part being a rhapsodic elaboration of the simple original chant melodies. In historically accurate fashion, all of the music for the mass will be sung a cappella by the 11-member ensemble. The intent of this presentation is to hear the music in its original setting, as part of a ceremony, not a concert.

Members of the Early Music Singers, directed by Barry Torres, include St. Lawrence students and faculty, as well as area citizens. The Singers' repertoire centers on the great a cappella sacred music of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. They rehearse completely a cappella and historically appropriate vocal practices, including just intonation, are explored in the authentic-style acoustics of Gunnison Memorial Chapel on campus.

For more information, contact Torres at 315-229-5171.

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