St Cecilia Mass by Gounod

Eternal Light by Goodall

Saturday November 22, 7:30pm - United Commons (Quadra at Balmoral)

We are launching our new season on St. Cecilia's Day, November 22, appropriately enough with Charles Gounod’s ‘St. Cecilia Mass.’

Soloists are soprano Sara Schabas, bass-baritone Neil Craighead, and tenor Adam Schmidt. Simon MacDonald leads the 25-member orchestra, with Mark McDonald of Christ Church Cathedral playing the organ.

 This is the 170th anniversary of Gounod's first major work, which premiered to critical and popular acclaim in Paris in 1855.  The younger composer, Camille Saint-Saëns, said the piece “caused a kind of shock …  at first one was dazzled, then charmed, then conquered.”   If you’ve heard the mass before, you’ll know what Saint-Saëns was talking about. If not, you’re in for an experience. 

Please join us on November 22 to be dazzled, charmed, and conquered! 

The second half is a Victoria premiere, Howard Goodall’s much-loved ‘Eternal Light.’  Goodall describes this as a requiem for the living, and incorporates texts from English poems and hymns from the last five centuries to offer solace to those who mourn.

Mr. Goodall is among the most versatile composers in the world, writing award-winning choral music, stage musicals and scores for TV and films including Mr. Bean, Red Dwarf, and the Vicar of Dibley. He is also a renowned music educator in internationally-broadcast projects such as Howard Goodall's Big Bangs.

Tickets are $37 regular, $11 for students (including fees) and FREE for accompanied children under 13.


…and later this season…

  • December 22, 2025 - Family Christmas Carol Sing-along

  • March 14, 2026 - English Music Old & New, including Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas

  • June 6, 2026 - Joseph Haydn’s The Seasons

Season Tickets for 2025-26 are now available on Canada Helps.


 
 

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Comments from VPC’s November 2018 performance of Rutter Requiem and the Lauridsen Lux Aeterna:

What a wonderful concert! I will become a regular at your choir’s performances.
— Audience Member
The Requiem was lovely, and haunting, but my favourites were the last two movements of Lux Aeterna when the voices of the singers were let loose and the joy they shared was palpable. A wonderful experience!
— Audience Member
Thank you for the wonderful treat! You performed difficult music with considerable
panache and great feeling.
— Audience Member
It was a wonderful concert to perform. When we feel prepared to the point that we can look up from the book and really ‘be’ with Peter in the music, and follow him wherever he decides to go, it’s the best feeling in the world. Requiems are often a bit personal, since many of us are remembering someone we lost. The orchestra was wonderful, from harp to horns and this concert was downright magical in places, with many audience members listening with closed eyes, seemingly quite transfixed!
— Choir Manager and Alto Chorister Sherry Lepage