Boston Archdiocesan Choir School
Encyclopedia
The Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (BACS) is a choir school in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. A middle school
for boys in grades 5-8, BACS is the only boy-choir school in the United States of America affiliated with the Catholic Church
. Its choir of boys and men sings for liturgical services at St. Paul Church, Cambridge
and performs within the Boston area and elsewhere.
as the result of decades of work spent renewing liturgical and musical traditions at St. Paul Parish, with which he had been affiliated since 1935. In the 1950s, at about the time when Marier was taking over the choir, the pastor of the parish, Msgr. Augustine F. Hickey, was inspired by the papal encyclical
Mediator Dei to encourage congregational participation in the Mass. This was unusual at a time when altar boys or a choir typically made all the responses to the priest's dialogue invocations. It was Marier's experience that the Gregorian Chant
was suited both to congregational singing and for inspiring the devotion of the faithful. Gradually, the parish developed the habit of singing the Ordinary of the Mass
(Kyrie
, Gloria
, Credo
, Sanctus
, and Agnus Dei). In 1958, the Vatican's Instruction on Sacred Music and Sacred Liturgy ("De musica sacra") declared that "every effort should be made that every church have its own boy choir" and that "Every effort must be made that the faithful of the entire world learn to sing" the dialogue portions of the Ordinary of the Mass.
The St. Paul's Choir School began in 1963 with twenty-five students chosen from throughout the archdiocese. Under the direction of Dr. Marier, the young musicians sang in the parish choir with members of the Harvard Catholic Club. Harvard students also helped out with the recreation program. The school was designed as a four-year course for students of academic ability and musical talent, assigning two periods of each school day to music, plus an hour after school. The music program included sight reading, tone placement, appreciation, theory and history, and instrumental studies.
The first years of St. Paul's Choir School were extraordinary. The choir made guest appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, with the Boston Philharmonic
, and with the Handel and Haydn Society
. They performed annually with the Boston Ballet
in the Nutcracker Suite, with Arthur Fiedler
conducting.
When the choir school began, it was housed in the building that had been the parish school in a building that was built in 1891. By the 1960s, however, St. Paul School had been experiencing declining enrollment as more families moved out of Cambridge to the suburbs. After several more years, the parish school closed and the choir school remained in the space. Eventually that building was torn down after being declared unsafe.
Since 1991, the school has operated in a newly built 4-story multipurpose building on the same location as the old school. The current building houses the St. Paul's rectory, parish offices, and the Harvard Catholic Center in addition to BACS.
in 2007.
In addition to these academic subjects, students take lessons in music theory and piano, and play in recorder ensembles and handbell groups. In music theory, students are taught how to read music through a careful study of the language of written music. There is also an extra rehearsal every Wednesday night for boys in grades 6-8, which is an opportunity to get the full choir (including the professional Adult Men) to rehearse together.
From sixth to eighth grade, the students must take private piano lessons taught by several piano teachers during the school day. Opportunities to perform include regular informal concerts, as well as biannual adjudications. If a student chooses, he may take private lessons in another instrument of his choosing. The handbell choirs are an opportunity for disciplined musical fun with friends, and are very popular with boys and parents alike.
There are no school sports teams, but students have physical education once a week and nearly every student participates in sports outside of school. Periodic travel for the choir combining educational sightseeing and performing is a tradition at BACS. Over the years, the boys have visited cities such as Chicago
, Montreal
, Washington, DC, and Rome
. While in Rome in 2005, the choir sang at a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica
and at the Church of Santa Susanna
. The choir has sung at Mass on multiple occasions at the Basilica of the National Shrine
in Washington, DC, most recently in 2011. The school also sang the national anthem at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in 2010. Parents are actively involved in the life of the school; nearly 100% of families are represented at each month's Parent Guild meeting, to help support the Choir School through hospitality and fund-raising efforts.
The students at the Choir School are around 65 in number. New students are accepted in fourth, fifth and sometimes sixth grades. They are chosen based on the results of a vocal audition as well as a written academic exam. Students commute to Harvard Square from various cities and towns throughout the greater Boston area, sometimes traveling more than an hour each way. Most students at BACS are Roman Catholic and many previously attended parochial schools, but there are also non-Catholic students.
The administration and faculty include the headmaster, music director, assistant music director, academic faculty and several piano teachers. The current Music Director of the School, John W. Robinson, was appointed in 2010. He previously served as Assistant Organist at Canterbury Cathedral
and Organist at The King's School, Canterbury
.
. The concerts sometimes include orchestral accompaniment, and guest soloists. Also, school concerts include ensembles such as the Bell Choirs and Recorder Groups. The Choir is available to hire for private events including Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings and Funerals.
and Tanglewood Festival Chorus
:
With the Boston Symphony Orchestra
at Symphony Hall, Boston
:
With the Opera Company of Boston
at Boston Opera House
:
With the Back Bay Chorale:
At the Maryland State Boychoir Festival:
BACS Recordings:
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. A middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
for boys in grades 5-8, BACS is the only boy-choir school in the United States of America affiliated with the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Its choir of boys and men sings for liturgical services at St. Paul Church, Cambridge
St. Paul Church, Cambridge
St. Paul Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and is located in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. In its unique mission, St...
and performs within the Boston area and elsewhere.
History
St. Paul's Choir School was founded by Theodore MarierTheodore Marier
Theodore N. Marier was a composer, church musician, educator, and scholar of Gregorian Chant. He founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1963, and served as the second president of the Church Music Association of America.-Life and career:Marier once said he...
as the result of decades of work spent renewing liturgical and musical traditions at St. Paul Parish, with which he had been affiliated since 1935. In the 1950s, at about the time when Marier was taking over the choir, the pastor of the parish, Msgr. Augustine F. Hickey, was inspired by the papal encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Mediator Dei to encourage congregational participation in the Mass. This was unusual at a time when altar boys or a choir typically made all the responses to the priest's dialogue invocations. It was Marier's experience that the Gregorian Chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
was suited both to congregational singing and for inspiring the devotion of the faithful. Gradually, the parish developed the habit of singing the Ordinary of the Mass
Ordinary of the Mass
The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Eucharist or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed...
(Kyrie
Kyrie
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek κύριε , vocative case of κύριος , meaning "Lord", is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, which is also called the Kýrie, eléison ....
, Gloria
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...
, Credo
Credo
A credo |Latin]] for "I Believe") is a statement of belief, commonly used for religious belief, such as the Apostles' Creed. The term especially refers to the use of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in the Mass, either as text, Gregorian chant, or other musical settings of the...
, Sanctus
Sanctus
The Sanctus is a hymn from Christian liturgy, forming part of the Order of Mass. In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine...
, and Agnus Dei). In 1958, the Vatican's Instruction on Sacred Music and Sacred Liturgy ("De musica sacra") declared that "every effort should be made that every church have its own boy choir" and that "Every effort must be made that the faithful of the entire world learn to sing" the dialogue portions of the Ordinary of the Mass.
The St. Paul's Choir School began in 1963 with twenty-five students chosen from throughout the archdiocese. Under the direction of Dr. Marier, the young musicians sang in the parish choir with members of the Harvard Catholic Club. Harvard students also helped out with the recreation program. The school was designed as a four-year course for students of academic ability and musical talent, assigning two periods of each school day to music, plus an hour after school. The music program included sight reading, tone placement, appreciation, theory and history, and instrumental studies.
The first years of St. Paul's Choir School were extraordinary. The choir made guest appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, with the Boston Philharmonic
Boston Philharmonic
The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra is a semi-professional orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1979....
, and with the Handel and Haydn Society
Handel and Haydn Society
The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1815, it remains one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the United States.-Early history:...
. They performed annually with the Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes...
in the Nutcracker Suite, with Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country...
conducting.
When the choir school began, it was housed in the building that had been the parish school in a building that was built in 1891. By the 1960s, however, St. Paul School had been experiencing declining enrollment as more families moved out of Cambridge to the suburbs. After several more years, the parish school closed and the choir school remained in the space. Eventually that building was torn down after being declared unsafe.
Since 1991, the school has operated in a newly built 4-story multipurpose building on the same location as the old school. The current building houses the St. Paul's rectory, parish offices, and the Harvard Catholic Center in addition to BACS.
Music Directors of the Choir School
- Theodore Marier, 1963 - 1986
- John Dunn, 1986 - 2008
- Jennifer Lester, 2008 - 2009
- John Dunn, 2009 - 2010
- John Robinson, 2010 - present
Accreditation
BACS became fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and CollegesNew England Association of Schools and Colleges
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
in 2007.
School life today
Students at the Choir School attend school full-time, completing a rigorous academic program in addition to daily rehearsals and singing at liturgy up to four times a week, including daily Choral Mass at 12.10, and Choral Vespers on Wednesday evenings at 5.15. Each student's tuition is supplemented by a "working scholarship", whereby the choristers are expected to sing at weddings, funerals and concerts throughout the school year. The busiest times of the year for the choir are at Christmas and Easter. All students at the Choir School study mathematics, science, computers, literature, language arts, social studies, religion, geography, French, and Latin.In addition to these academic subjects, students take lessons in music theory and piano, and play in recorder ensembles and handbell groups. In music theory, students are taught how to read music through a careful study of the language of written music. There is also an extra rehearsal every Wednesday night for boys in grades 6-8, which is an opportunity to get the full choir (including the professional Adult Men) to rehearse together.
From sixth to eighth grade, the students must take private piano lessons taught by several piano teachers during the school day. Opportunities to perform include regular informal concerts, as well as biannual adjudications. If a student chooses, he may take private lessons in another instrument of his choosing. The handbell choirs are an opportunity for disciplined musical fun with friends, and are very popular with boys and parents alike.
There are no school sports teams, but students have physical education once a week and nearly every student participates in sports outside of school. Periodic travel for the choir combining educational sightseeing and performing is a tradition at BACS. Over the years, the boys have visited cities such as Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Washington, DC, and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. While in Rome in 2005, the choir sang at a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
and at the Church of Santa Susanna
Santa Susanna
The Church of Saint Susanna at the baths of Diocletian is a Roman Catholic parish church on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, with a titulus associated to its site that dates back to about 280...
. The choir has sung at Mass on multiple occasions at the Basilica of the National Shrine
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a prominent Latin Rite Catholic basilica located in Washington, D.C., honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of the United States...
in Washington, DC, most recently in 2011. The school also sang the national anthem at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park in 2010. Parents are actively involved in the life of the school; nearly 100% of families are represented at each month's Parent Guild meeting, to help support the Choir School through hospitality and fund-raising efforts.
Students and faculty
The students at the Choir School are around 65 in number. New students are accepted in fourth, fifth and sometimes sixth grades. They are chosen based on the results of a vocal audition as well as a written academic exam. Students commute to Harvard Square from various cities and towns throughout the greater Boston area, sometimes traveling more than an hour each way. Most students at BACS are Roman Catholic and many previously attended parochial schools, but there are also non-Catholic students.
The administration and faculty include the headmaster, music director, assistant music director, academic faculty and several piano teachers. The current Music Director of the School, John W. Robinson, was appointed in 2010. He previously served as Assistant Organist at Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
and Organist at The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
.
Performances and recordings
The Choir of St. Paul's Church, Harvard Square performs throughout the school year at Mass on Sundays and most weekdays, and for services at Christmas and in Holy Week. It also presents concerts before Christmas and in the Spring. All of these are performed at St. Paul Church and, except for the weekday masses, include the St. Paul Men's ScholaSchola cantorum
The Schola cantorum was the trained papal choir during the Middle Ages, specializing in the performance of plainchant. Although legend associates them with the papacy of Gregory the Great, there is no historical evidence to support this claim. The Schola is attested in historical records...
. The concerts sometimes include orchestral accompaniment, and guest soloists. Also, school concerts include ensembles such as the Bell Choirs and Recorder Groups. The Choir is available to hire for private events including Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings and Funerals.
Prominent performances
With the Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
and Tanglewood Festival Chorus
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
The Tanglewood Festival Chorus is a chorus which performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops in major choral works. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus was organized in the spring of 1970, when conductor John Oliver became director of vocal and choral activities at the Tanglewood Music...
:
- BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
's The Damnation of FaustThe Damnation of FaustLa damnation de Faust , Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "légende dramatique"...
at Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
and Symphony Hall, BostonSymphony Hall, BostonSymphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999... - BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's St. Matthew PassionMatthäuspassionThe St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, , is a musical composition from the Passions written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander . It sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew to music, with interspersed chorales and arias...
at TanglewoodTanglewoodTanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
With the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
at Symphony Hall, Boston
Symphony Hall, Boston
Symphony Hall is a concert hall located at 301 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by McKim, Mead and White, it was built in 1900 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which continues to make the hall its home. The hall was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1999...
:
- MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Symphony No. 8Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a... - HoneggerArthur HoneggerArthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
's Joan of Arc at the StakeJeanne d'Arc au bûcherJeanne d'Arc au bûcher is an oratorio by Arthur Honegger, originally commissioned by Ida Rubinstein. The drama takes place during the heroine's trial and execution, with flashbacks to her younger days... - PucciniGiacomo PucciniGiacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's ToscaToscaTosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900... - OrffCarl OrffCarl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
's Carmina BuranaCarmina Burana (Orff)Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
With the Opera Company of Boston
Opera Company of Boston
The Opera Company of Boston was an American opera company located in Boston, Massachusetts that was active during the late 1950s through the early 1990s. The company was founded by American conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1958 under the name Boston Opera Group. At one time, the touring arm of the...
at Boston Opera House
Boston Opera House (1980)
The Boston Opera House is a performing arts venue located at 538 Washington St. in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally built as a movie palace, it opened on October 29, 1928 and was rededicated in 1980 as a home for the Opera Company of Boston...
:
- MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's The Magic FluteThe Magic FluteThe Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
With the Back Bay Chorale:
- BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's St. Matthew PassionMatthäuspassionThe St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, , is a musical composition from the Passions written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander . It sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew to music, with interspersed chorales and arias...
at Sanders TheaterSanders TheaterSanders Theatre or Sanders Theater is the premiere lecture and concert hall at Harvard University. It is internationally known for its superior acoustics, which in New England are only surpassed by Jordan Hall, Mechanics Hall, Worcester, and Boston Symphony Hall.-History:Plans for the theater...
,
At the Maryland State Boychoir Festival:
- MendelssohnFelix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's Laudate Pueri at Goucher CollegeGoucher CollegeGoucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
Recordings
- MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Symphony No. 8Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is often performed with fewer than a...
(Ozawa/Boston Symphony Orchestra/Robinson, Blegen et al./Philips) (in Philips #470871) - BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
's The Damnation of FaustThe Damnation of FaustLa damnation de Faust , Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "légende dramatique"...
(Ozawa/Boston Symphony Orchestra/Mathis, Burrows et al./Deutsche Grammophon) (#423 907-2, #453 019-2)
BACS Recordings:
- O Holy NightO Holy Night"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
(BACS Recordings BR-192, CD) 1992. Boston Boy Choir with the Saint Paul Men's Schola and the BACS Handbell Choir, John Dunn (director), Timothy Hughes (organist), Mark Nemeskal (tenor) - Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (BACS Recordings BR-193, CD) 1993. Music for Choir, Organ, Trumpet and Handbells. Boston Boy Choir, John Dunn (director), Timothy Hughes (organist)
- Sing Noel (BACS Recordings BR-194, CD) 1994. Boston Boy Choir with The Saint Paul Men's Schola and Beacon Brass, John Dunn (director), Timothy Hughes (organist)
- Wondrous Love (BACS Recordings BR-196, CD) 1996. Celebrating Music of the Liturgical Year. Boston Boy Choir with John Dunn (director), Timothy Hughes (organist) with handbells, strings & brass
- On Christmas Night (BACS Recordings, CD) 2000. C The Boston Boy Choir, John Dunn, Director, presents this recording of traditional Christmas music. The recording features the Boston Boy Choir, the Beacon Brass, and the BACS Handbell Choir.
- The Holly and The Ivy (BACS Recordings, CD) 2007. John Dunn leads the Boston Boy Choir for his final recording as Headmaster/Music Director, completing 45 years of service. This recording also features Christmas Cantata by Daniel PinkhamDaniel PinkhamDaniel Rogers Pinkham, Jr. was an American composer, organist, and harpsichordist. Pinkham was one of America's most active composers during his lifetime...
.