For Immediate Release
March 30, 2016
Chorus pro Musica’s 2016-2017 season will feature
Beethoven’s monumental ‘Missa Solemnis’
Concert will be performed in honor of long-time patron, the late Vera Godkin
Jordan Hall│November 4, 2016 – 8 p.m.
Boston — Chorus pro Musica, under the direction of Jamie Kirsch, will perform Beethoven’s monumental “Missa Solemnis” on November 4, 2016, at Jordan Hall as part of their 2016-17 season. The chorus will be accompanied by a full orchestra and prominent soloists. The concert will be in honor of the late Vera Godkin, long-time patron of the arts and mother of 25-year CpM chorister, David S. Godkin.
Raised in New York City, David Godkin shared his parents’ love of theater and opera, and started singing in choirs in his high school years. “My parents were avid supporters of the arts and would come to Boston regularly to hear me perform with CpM,” said Godkin, a trial lawyer in Bostonand co-founder of Birnbaum & Godkin, LLP.
Upon her death in 2014, Vera Godkin left a bequest to CpM, and since that time, David Godkin and Kirsch have explored works the chorus could present that would honor her memory.
“‘Missa Solemnis’ is one of the monumental works of the choral repertoire. It is a larger-than-life piece … powerful and exhilarating to hear and perform,” said Kirsch. “CpM hasn’t performed it in almost 30 years, and (it) wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Godkin family, which makes this performance an extremely special event for us.”
About “Missa Solemnis”: Along with Bach’s Mass in B minor, Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” is widely regarded as one of the most significant mass settings. Although nearly eclipsed by the composer’s “Ninth Symphony,” completed directly after “Missa Solemnis,” it is generally considered one of the composer’s supreme achievements.
Beethoven began the work in 1819. It was to be performed at the ceremony where the composer’s long-time patron and friend, Rudolph, Archduke of Austria, was to be invested as archbishop in March 1820. Due to a myriad of circumstances, the piece was not finished in time, and without a deadline to manage, Beethoven completed the mass in 1823. The work is scored for a full orchestra, four soloists, and a mixed choir.
Complete details on CpM’s 2016-17 complete season will be announced in April.