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" 

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

Products of the German "Aufklaerung" (Enlightenment), both Mozart and Beethoven composed Mass Settings that remain standouts in the choral repertoire today. Mozart composed his Great Mass in C minor as a star vehicle for showcasing the abilities of his soprano wife, Constanze, on the occasion of her visit to his hometown of Salzburg in 1783. Though clearly a setting of liturgical text, the piece is often closer to opera in style than it is to church music. 

Beethoven grew up in Bonn and was 18 when the French Revolution began. Not a traditionally religious man, he nevertheless set the Mass twice. In the second effort, he created one of the most challenging stamina checks in the choral repertoire: the Missa Solemnis, which premiered in 1824. Join Professor Gil Harel as he discusses two completely different settings by two of the most famous composers in the western canon. 

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.