The Billboard Classical Chart-topping Saint Paul’s Choir of Men & Boys performed a brilliant concert on Sunday, May 15th, alongside Grammy Award winning soprano soloist Amanda Forsythe, and period instrument orchestra, Melius Consort. Under the direction of Music Director and Conductor, James Kennerley, the choir presented Mozart’s elegant and uplifting Sparrow Mass, the sublime Laudate Dominum, and Vivaldi’s famous Gloria. As an encore after well-deserved ovations from the audience, the choir sang Mozart’s tranquil Ave Verum Corpus which was a favorite of Saint Paul’s Choir School founder, Theodore Marier.
Cambridge and Saint Paul’s has long been at the epi-center of early music as the exquisite acoustics make for a spectacular experience for the listener. This was a significant event for the choir to perform, most likely, the first historically authentic program with boys’ voices in the Cambridge and Boston area.
Saint Paul’s Choir of Men & Boys perform Mozart & Vivaldi with Melius Consort and Grammy Award-winning Soprano, Amanda Forsythe.
Photo Credit: Julia Monaco
Amanda Forsythe, our featured soprano soloist, gave a transcendental performance, leaving the audience in a state of awe. Each of her solos were delivered masterfully, with grace and ease. Highly praised by Opera News for her “light and luster” and “wonderful agility and silvery top notes,” Amanda is recognized internationally as a leading interpreter of baroque and classical repertoire.
The choir was accompanied by a historical instrument ensemble, Melius Consort, founded by Kennerley in 2019. The ensemble, comprised of members of Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Baroque, expertly performed on instruments that are based on historical models from the 17th and 18th centuries (some of them are even from that time!).
"This was certainly no school concert but easily among the finest events in Boston." - Richard Clark, Archdiocesan & Cathedral Director of Music and Choir School parent
The collaboration of the period instrumentalists, Amanda Forsythe, and Saint Paul’s Choir was incredibly exciting. The audience was riveted and enthusiastic from start to finish with several standing ovations.
Richard Clark, Archdiocesan & Cathedral Director of Music and Choir School parent, said “Laudate Dominum was the finest I've heard in my life (which is saying a lot) not only because of the otherworldly Amanda Forsythe, but in combination with such an extraordinary ensemble made for a rare polished gem. This was certainly no school concert but easily among the finest events in Boston.”
If you were unable to join us in person, the concert was recorded and digital tickets are available on eventbrite.