Co-Presented: St. Paul's Choir School

Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli: Lecture, Discussion, and Mass

The Saint Paul’s Choir of Men and Boys sing Palestrina’s glorious and beloved music, composed around 1562, within a contemporary Mass for the feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius. In the lecture and discussion preceding the Mass, Prof. John Baldovin, S.J. and James Kennerly, FRCO, examine the evolution of the Eucharistic worship before the Council of Trent (1545-63), the Council’s teachings on the Eucharist and its debates on the role of music in liturgy, the musical characteristics of Palestrina’s groundbreaking composition, and the way to integrate this music into contemporary Catholic worship.

The Choir of Men and Boys is associated with the St. Paul’s Choir School, founded in 1963 by Dr. Theodore Marier, the only Catholic boys’ choir school in the United States. The Boys’ Choir sings during term time at daily and Sunday Masses, and at a weekly Choral Vespers. The Choir has toured and performed throughout North America and Europe and made numerous recordings.

Fr. John F. Baldovin, S.J., is Professor of Historical and Liturgical Theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He has written and taught internationally on the history and theology of the liturgy, the sacraments, and ministry. Among his many publications are Bread of Life, Cup of Salvation: Understanding the Mass (2003), and (co-edited) A Commentary on the Order of Mass of the Roman Missal (2011), as well as numerous articles in both scholarly and general audience periodicals.  He is the past president of the North America Academy of Liturgy and of the international Societas Liturgica. Fr. Baldovin’s Ph.D. is from Yale. 

James Kennerly, FRCO, is Director of Music at the St. Paul’s Choir School and at St. Paul’s Harvard Square. Rooted in the English choir school tradition, he is an internationally known organist, vocalist, and director.  Educated at Cambridge University, Mr. Kennerly was Organ Scholar at Jesus College and later at St. Paul’s Cathedral London. He has frequently given solo organ concerts throughout the U.S. and Europe.