Palestrina’s Assumption Mass at Advent Church

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (artist and date unknown, from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Last night I made my annual visit to the Church of the Advent of Christ the King for the Procession and High Mass service. While I am an atheist, I have found few opportunities to experience the music of Giovanni Pierluigi di Palestrina; and the Director of Music at the church, Paul Ellison, has regularly provided such occasions for me involving his Schola Adventus vocalists: David Alban, Jennifer Ashworth, Lauren Carley, Tonia D’Amelio, James Monios, and Rowan Taymuree. Last night the musical setting for the Mass text was Palestrina’s Missa Assumpta est Maria with “Gloria in excelsis,” “Sanctus,” and “Agnus Dei” movements.

The musical offerings also included both early works, an “Ave Maria” setting by Robert Parsons and a “Fuga Doppia” by Michel Corrette based on Magnificat settings in the third and fourth “tones,” and the “Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God,” a more recent anthem by John Taverner, who died in 2013. I realize that I have attended these events only for the music (sometimes wondering if any of the other parishioners are there for the same reason); but I make it a point to respect the fact that this is a church service, rather than a concert. Ellison’s vocalists are always well-prepared for the polyphonic challenges they confront, and he also gave a satisfying account for the Corrette fugue, which served as the organ postlude. (Not all the parishioners stayed for the full postlude!)