Music & Arts
-Mañanitas-Serenade To Our Lady
-Performing Arts and Music Offerings for Advent and Christmas
-Christmas Lessons & Carols and Britten “Ceremony Of Carols”
-Christmas Eve and Carols for the City
Performing Arts and Music Offerings for Advent and Christmas
Each year, the Cathedral goes all out for Advent and Christmas, with wonderful music and arts programs. 2006 is no exception.
Amahl and the Night Visitors
November 30, December 1-3, and 14-17, 2006. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm.
Somewhere in the world lives a crippled little shepherd boy called Amahl, with his mother, an impoverished widow. Nothing is left to them of the little they ever had, and they are now faced with hunger and cold in their empty house.
Three Wise Men, on their way to Bethlehem, stop at the hut and ask to be taken in for the night. Amahl and his mother welcome them as well as they can, and are much astonished at the splendor of their robes and the wealth of gifts they are carrying with them.
When Amahl’s mother realizes that they are looking for a newborn babe, and that the expensive gifts are destined for him, she becomes bitter and envious. She cannot understand why at least some of these gifts are not to be bestowed upon her own child, who is poor and sickly.
Under cover of darkness, while the Three Kings are asleep, she steals some of the gold from them, and then is caught red-handed. When she explains to the Three Kings that she needs this gold to feed her starving child, she is readily forgiven.
With great tenderness they try to explain to her who this newborn child is and how much he needs the love of every human being to build his coming kingdom. Touched by their words, the poor widow not only gives back the stolen gold, but wishes she could add a gift of her own.
Little Amahl comes to her rescue. He impulsively hands to the Three Kings his wooden crutch, his most precious possession, and in doing so he is miraculously cured of his lameness.
As dawn appears in the sky, the Three Kings make ready to resume their journey. Amahl begs his mother to let him join them, and he is finally allowed to follow the Kings to Bethlehem to adore and give thanks to Christ Child.
This classic contemporary opera is a testament to the power of imagination and belief through the experience of Amahl. This opera (in English) written by the Italian composer Gian-Carlos Menotti was the first opera commissioned especially for television. It premiered in New York, December 1951 on the NBC Television Opera Theatre. The text is simple yet complex; humble and heartwarming.
The production continues a partnership between St. Paul’s Cathedral Center for the Performing and Visual Arts and Common Ground Theatre. A major focus of this collaboration is to encourage greater cultural and ethnic diversity within the greater San Diego arts and faith communities.
All performances will be in ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL GREAT HALL, Suggested Donation $18-$25
Mañanitas-Serenade To Our Lady
5:00 pm, Sunday, December 10. The MAÑANITAS - SERENADE TO OUR LADY is a beautiful event for the Latino congregation and everyone else at St. Paul’s. Returning for a second year, the Guadalupe Art Program presents a traditional joyful evening service honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patron of the Americas, and “Art and Altars” - an art exhibit and reception in the Great Hall after the service. Joining in the serenade again this year will be film and television personality Caitlin Wachs (“Commander-in-Chief") and other special guests: Enrique Morones, E.D. of Border Angels, as our Human Rights Advocate in Residence, Danza Azteca de la Catedral and el Mariachi Real de San Diego.
Advent Procession
Sunday, December 3 at 5:00 pm, the St Cecilia Choir of girls and men usher in the Season of Preparation with one of the most beautiful and moving Cathedral music offerings of the year. The service is sung by the choir entirely in procession – a visual representation of the coming of Christ for which we prepare throughout Advent. The service begins with the singing of the text ”I look from afar…” which is sung from the Chapel (far off from the congregation in the Nave). As the choir makes its pilgrimage throughout the cathedral, a lesson and a carol, or motet, is sung from each location. The congregation and choir join in singing the “Great O Antihpons” as the procession moves to each new station. The service concludes with the choir and clergy in place in their stalls and the singing of the “Magnificat” (The Song of Mary) accompanied by bell ringers – all boys from the Cathedral Choristers. This is truly an offering not to be missed. This service will be repeated on Sunday, December 10 at 5:00 pm, at St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Encinitas.
Christmas Lessons & Carols and Britten “Ceremony Of Carols”
December 17, beginning at 4:30 pm. Each year the boy and girl choristers present one of the most memorable Christmas offerings in San Diego. At 4:30 pm, the girls of the St Cecilia Choir sing the unforgettable “Ceremony of Carols” by Benjamin Britten in its original version of three-part girl trebles accompanied by harp.
Composed aboard ship while crossing the Atlantic in 1942, the Ceremony of Carols is one of Britten’s most well-loved and charming works. The St Cecilia girls will be accompanied by Harpist Laura Vaughan, a recent graduate of Berklee School of Music and a San Diego native.
At 5:00 pm, immediately following the Britten, the service of Christmas Lessons & Carols begins with a solo boy singing the first verse of “Once in Royal David’s City”. This is a much coveted solo by all the boys; some of them have been working on it since September! However, the soloist is never picked until the dress rehearsal for the service, so all the boys will be ready to sing it at a moment’s notice! This year’s Lessons and Carols service features carols both familiar and not-so-familiar ranging from a Medieval German Carol from the early 1300’s to a stunning setting of the Appalachian carol “I Wonder as I Wander” set by Carl Rutti and premiered by the choir of King’s College, Cambridge just a few years ago.
Bring your friends, and come early for best seating for the 4:30 pm start time!
Christmas Eve and Carols for the City
December 24, 5:00 pm, in keeping with our sense of St. Paul’s as the Cathedral for the City, the boy and girl choristers combine for “Carols for the City.” This Festival Family Eucharist gains popularity each year, and has quickly become a city-wide favorite. Geared in content and duration for families with smaller children in attendance, the service features an opportunity for the children to gather around the main altar as communion is prepared, and also provides a great opportunity for younger children to see the boy and girl choristers perform in a cathedral service.
10:00 pm Carol Singing in the Cathedral. For approximately 30 minutes before the 10:30 pm Mass the congregation is invited to a carol sing. This year, we welcome Mr Robert Heylmun as your host.
10:30 pm “Midnight Mass” with the Cathedral Choir and Chamber Orchestra.
Christmas Eve Mass in the cathedral is an unforgettable experience!
Featuring a Missa Brevis by Franz Joseph Haydn, familiar carols and several stunning Christmas motets sung by the choir, including “O Magnum Mysterium” by Francis Poulenc.
New Choristers
We welcome new members to the boy and girl choristers. New to the St Cecilia Choir (girls) this season are: Sabrina Romero, Meredith Yokohama, Alexis Park, Zuleika Julius, and Grace Suggs. New to the Cathedral Choristers (boys) are Daniel Rohrbach, Roberto Quinones, and Nyall Padre.
Auditions for each group are held on an ongoing basis for boys and girls age 7 and older. We currently have openings for 4 girl choristers and up to 6 boy choristers immediately after Christmas. If you have, or know of, an interested boy or girl, please contact Canon for Music Martin Green at greenm@stpaulcathedral.org or call 619.920.331. Or, better yet, bring them along to an Evensong or Christmas Lessons & Carols and meet the Choristers and our cathedral Canon for Music, Martin Green.
