One of the most moving choral services of the year, this meditation employs lessons & carols, spirituals, anthems, motets, and congregational hymns to illuminate the Passion of Christ, which is retold using biblical narratives from Mark, Matthew, and John, sung to some of the most ancient plainchant known to the Church.
The service is sung by the Cathedral Schola, and the officiant is the Rev. Canon Cathy Zappa.
Choral repertoire includes:
- “Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended” Herzliebster Jesu
- John Jacob Niles (1892-1980), arr. John Rutter (b. 1945), I wonder as I wander
- “A stable lamp is lighted” Andújar
- Trond Kverno (b. 1945), Corpus Christi Carol
- Spiritual, arr. Dale Adelmann, Sometimes I feel like a motherless child & Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
- “To mock your reign, O dearest Lord” Tallis’ Third Tune
- Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), Vinea mea electa
- Richard Lloyd (1933-2021), The Ballad of the Judas Tree
- Kenneth Miller, “Beneath the cross of Jesus” Sewanee Schola
- Spiritual, Were you there when they crucified my Lord
- Antonio Lotti (1667-1740), Crucifixus à 8