The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul will hold its annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3:00 p.m.
Join the Cathedral Choirs and instrumentalists as they perform works by Henryk Górecki, Claudio Monteverdi, and Leo Nestor as well as beloved Christmas Carols for all to participate.
The focus of the concert will be various texts associated with Mary, the Mother of God — hence the title of the concert, “Mater,” which in Latin means “Mother.”
The selection by Górecki entitled “Totus Tuus,” which was St. Pope John Paul II’s motto translated to “Totally Yours,” invokes a total giving of oneself to Jesus Christ through Mary. Górecki has masterfully set this text in a meditative, trance-like composition that paints a canvas of color and emotion. While featuring moments of great excitement and tension, the piece ends peacefully, as if a mother is rocking an infant to sleep.
Other works in the repertoire will include: “Ave Maris Stella” by Monteverdi; “Alma Redemptoris Mater” by Cecilia McDowall and György Orbán; movements from the “Magnificat” by Kim André Arnesen; and a piece in Tagalog, “Birhen Ng Guadalupe” by noted Filipino composer Father Carlo Magno Marcelo.
General admission tickets are $25. To purchase in-person tickets, please visit https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=MzNPhF. To purchase livestream tickets, please visit https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=nXsMNP.
The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is located at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.
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