Theotokos - Music Honoring the Life of the Virgin Mary
4 pm, Sunday November 24, 2024
St John's Church
1670 Route 25 A
Cold Spring Harbor, New York
General Admission Tickets: $30
Student Tickets: $15
Music by Charpentier, Biber, Merula, Purcell, Alessandro Scarlatti and more.
Theotokos Ensemble, the living embodiment of a Baroque church ensemble, will present A Musical Devotion to Mary, led by viola da gamba player Doug Balliett, soprano Rocky Duval, and the entire ensemble. This unique program features Marian Masterpieces that honor the Virgin Mary, tracing her life through the eyes of Renaissance composers.
In the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, devotion to Mary—the Virgin mother of Jesus Christ—permeated all arts: painting, sculpture, liturgy, poetry, and of course, music. Each event in Mary’s life sparked creative expressions from Renaissance artists, and this concert will explore how composers approached her with reverence, tenderness, and even a perspective from Mary herself. The centerpiece of the evening is Merula’s hypnotic Lament, which imagines Mary, clairvoyant, singing to her infant son.
This promises to be a truly moving performance, capturing the beauty and devotion inspired by Mary. Secure your tickets and join us for another unforgettable evening of music at St. John’s Church.
About Theotokos:
Theotokos is the living embodiment of a baroque church ensemble. Founded in 2020, the ensemble is in residence at St. Mary’s Church on the lower east side of New York City. Every week a new cantata is composed by director Doug Balliett and performed by the ensemble, based on and tightly linked with the liturgical readings assigned to that date. In addition, theologically relevant baroque and pre-baroque music is performed in situ during the Mass, from Josquin to Telemann, early American church music, and into Romantic masters.
Theotokos has given concerts of sacred vocal music around New York City, including performances of Telemann’s Harmonischer Dottesdienst cantatas, Charpentier’s Leçons de Tenebre by candlelight, and the sacred madrigals of Marenzio. Driven by a special interest in early Christian music, Theotokos also runs a Gregorian Chant club, open to all, which regularly meets to chant the Latin Mass and the Divine Office.
The passion, historical curiosity, and imagination of the Theotokos project has attracted visiting guests of extraordinary stature and variety, including Davoné Tines, Karim Sulayman, Jonathan Woody, Nola Richardson, Jessica Niles, Majel Connery, Matt Aucoin, Jean Rondeau, Thomas Dunford, Myriam Rignol, and William Christie, as well as many of NYC’s top choral soloists. In 2021 Theotokos began a fruitful collaboration with the Juilliard School Historical Performance program, in which interested students are given the opportunity to perform, compose music, and experience the baroque sacred music tradition from within.
St. Mary’s is a Roman Catholic Church on the lower east side of Manhattan. Theotokos was founded in October, 2020, when Fr. Andrew O’Connor invited Doug Balliett to compose and program weekly music for the 12 PM Sunday mass.
Director of Music
