Gil Harel: The Musical Setting of the Mass - from the Middle Ages to Dave Brubeck

Please join us as Dr. Gil Harel presents a 5-part series covering the musical settings for the Mass from Palestrina in the Renaissance to Dave Brubeck and beyond. Every composer worth his or her salt has met the challenge of setting the Mass to music. And some of our most important composers have left us some of the greatest masterpieces in music history. We'll start in the Middle Ages and Renaissance with the likes of Palestrina and des Prez, move on to Bach and his B Minor Mass, thence to Beethoven and Mozart. Two modern masters - Leonard Bernstein and Arvo Part - will bring us into the 20th Century. And we'll conclude with a deep examination of Dave Brubeck's To Hope!.

March 19th: "Early Music and the Rise of the Mass: Settings of the Mass Ordinary in the Medieval and Renaissance Periods" 

April 16th: "Bach's B Minor Mass" 

There is no dearth of remarkable Mass settings in the baroque period, but perhaps the best known one is Bach's B Minor Mass. This piques our curiosity, as the Latin Missa Tota was almost exclusively written by Catholic composers. Why then would a Pietist Lutheran set texts associated with the Catholic liturgy? During this program, Professor Gil Harel will discuss the intersection of music, theology, and politics in mid-18th century Saxony. In doing so, we will immerse ourselves in one of the most enduring (and challenging) works in the choral canon. The B Minor Mass reflects the work of a fully mature composer who, amid the rising tide of anti-baroque aesthetic sentiment in the 1740s, "pulled out all the stops" to add a significant achievement to his already-formidable catalog and legacy. 

May 14th: "Mozart, Beethoven, and Liturgical Music" 

June 4th: "Leonard Bernstein and Arvo Pärt - Modern Approaches to the Mass" 

June 25th: "Dave Brubeck's To Hope! - How a Jazz Legend Came to Set the Mass to Music" 

Gil Harel (PhD, Brandeis University) is a musicologist and music theorist whose interests include styles ranging from the western classical repertoire to jazz. Previously, he served on the faculty at CUNY Baruch College (where he was awarded the prestigious “Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching”). Currently, he is Full Professor of Music at CT State Naugatuck Valley, where he has been presented with the AFT "Merit Award for Exemplary Service to the College" for 6 consecutive years. In 2020, he was honored with the coveted Connecticut Board of Regents (BOR) Teaching Award. At NVCC, Dr. Harel conducts the college chorale, a cappella ensemble, teaches music history and theory, and serves as musical director of theater productions.

Registration strongly recommended. Register online or call 203-762-6334. You will automatically be registered for all five sessions.