Sacra Nova Chorale Returns to Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist

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Sacra Nova Chorale Welcome Home banner

Music lovers are always happy to learn there’s a new artist in residence program since these provide the stability and continuity for creativity to flourish. I was delighted to learn from Dale Newman, vice president and general manager of Sacra Nova Chorale, that they will be the artists in residence at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Downtown Milwaukee. It’s also a coming home since it was there that they offered their first concert seven years ago. Likewise, it is a homecoming for Milwaukee Musaik who played there in the 1990s as the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.

Sacra Nova is under the direction of Joseph Smaldino. Acoustics in places of worship can be special. And the audience will be in for a treat since the concert will take place in the main sanctuary giving the combined sound of the chorus, organ and Milwaukee Musaik a chance to expand and fill the space. 

Organist Michael Batcho and Milwaukee Musaik will accompany the Sacra Nova Chorale for the first composition on the program, Haydn’s Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, in B-flat major. It is also known as the Kleine Orgelmesse and was composed around 1775. It’s scored for soprano, four-part mixed choir, two violins, organ and bass. There’s an extended organ solo in the Benedictus movement which also includes the only featured solo voice—a soprano.

Mozart by Musaik

This will be followed by Mozart’s Divertimento #138 played by Milwaukee Musaik. This is one of three string symphonies or divertimentos, known as the Salzburg Symphonies, composed in 1772 when Mozart was only 16. It demonstrates Mozart’s genius, with melodies flowing from one note and phrase to the next. You can decide for yourselves if this is a quartet, divertimento or symphony. Milwaukee Musaik will play the string orchestra version and will be joined by a contrabass.

The Sacra Nova Choral and Milwaukee Musaik return after intermission to offer Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. Haydn composed this mass in 1798 near the end of his life. It premiered on or about the date of Admiral Nelson’s defeat of Napolean’s Navy at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 and gradually, in celebration, the name Lord Nelson’s Mass became associated with this magnificent piece. It is said to be one of the best of Haydn’s compositions. A later revision by Haydn adding trumpets at the end of the Benedictus perhaps fixed the association of Lord Nelson with this mass.

This final mass, music in troubled times, is especially appropriate as we slowly struggle to return to healthier times. There’s the adage that music heals. Here’s what Dale observes.

Newman reminds us that with the pandemic, musical performances stopped and have been slow to reappear. “The Archdiocese wished that this tradition continue and be reinstated,” he said of Sacra Nova’s role at the cathedral. “Sacra Nova Chorale has worked exclusively with Milwaukee Musaik for its major choral works requiring orchestral accompaniment.” He added that the Lord Nelson Mass “is a piece rarely performed and is an extra special event, especially with the combined musical forces assembled. This is a ‘once in a lifetime’ concert not to be missed.”

4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 812 N. Jackson St. Ticket information can be found at sacranovachorale.com.