The Durandus Institute for Sacred Liturgy and Music has arranged for the celebration of Solemn Vespers and Benediction at the Basilica of St Patrick’s Old Cathedral in New York City on September 14th, for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. A chamber orchestra will assist with some of the greatest choral works ever written for the Divine Office, the centerpiece being Mozart’s Vesperae Solemnes de Confessore, K. 339, to be supplemented with:
Concerto No. 1 in D Major – W. A. Mozart after Johann Christian Bach
Domine ad adjuvandum – Baldassare Galuppi
O Salutaris – Luigi Cherubini
Salve Regina – Vincenzo Bellini
The celebrating priest will be assisted by six other clerics as cantors in copes. Following Vespers will be a short sermon, then Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the celebrations for the feast of San Gennaro, a week-long festival in New York City’s Little Italy district, which begins on this same day.
