The Golden Mass: The Story of the Annunciation

The Golden Mass of Ember Wednesday commemorates the Annunciation, the moment when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was with child. In the Middle Ages, this mass was performed early in the morning with the sanctuary awash in candlelight, thus the title Golden Mass, and timed so that the end of the service coincided with the rising of the sun.

In the Renaissance, a celebration of the mass often intermingled portions set by a composer with portions in Gregorian chant. Cappella Pratensis performs The Golden Mass this way, alternating Gregorian chant with sections of Guillaume Dufay’s Missa Ecce ancilla Domini. 

For almost forty years, Cappella Pratensis has been renowned for its innovative approach to the performance of Renaissance polyphonic music, being one of only a handful of professional ensembles in the world who perform directly from historical notation. The performers draw on a truly embodied relationship with past musical cultures in order to provide convincing and engaging performances.

Pre-Concert Talk at 7:00

Concert duration is 1 hour and 10 minutes and will run without an intermission.

Praise for Cappella Pratensis:

With singing full of inflection and emotion, moments of compelling resonance for singers and listeners as the voices briefly flowed together onto the tonic and then smoothly wound away again. (New York Classical Review)