Choral Eucharist

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In today’s Gospel according to Saint Luke, Jesus foretells of his entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday, pictured above from the Meekness Window of Saint Thomas Church). He says to the Pharisees: “It cannot be that the prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee…Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.“

Included in this Choral Eucharist are hymns sung by the congregation and choir, additional music sung exclusively by the choir, lessons, prayers, a sermon, and a Rite I Mass. All baptized Christians are welcome to receive Holy Communion. Details of the service may be seen in the leaflet and service card, which will be posted at the bottom of this page a few days prior to the service, and where you will also find links to the webcast during and after the service.

Saint Matthias: Today is Saint Matthias Day, but because it is also the Second Sunday in Lent, we observe Saint Matthias Day tomorrow at three services in the Chantry Chapel. The Rector speaks about Saint Matthias and what it means to be an apostle in his weekly audio message. 

‚ñ∫This is the final week of the Candlemas Campaign for the 2013 Every Member Canvass. Thank you to everyone who has made a commitment of stewardship for the ministry of Saint Thomas Church and Chior School in the here and now. For those who have not yet pledged for 2013, please consider doing so this week. Feel free to email Ann Hall Kaplan if you have any questions. You may pledge online here. Thank you.

Music notes: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born in the town of Palestrina near Rome in 1525 and died in Rome in 1594. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most influential composers of the Renaissance, Palestrina was a prolific writer of sacred choral music, producing nearly 400 motets and 104 settings of the Mass. He held posts at the Cappella Giulia in the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and the churches of St John Lateran and S. Maria Maggiore in Rome and served under four different popes. Palestrina is often credited with having rescued sacred polyphony (in the wake of the Council of Trent’s ruling that music must not obscure the text) through the composition of the simple Missa Papae Marcelli, the declamatory clarity of which seemed to appease the Commission of Cardinals despite its clear departure from Palestrina’s favoured contrapuntal style.

The Missa Brevis (so-called by virtue of its brevity in comparison with many of the composer’s other mass settings) was written in 1570 and is one of only a few ‘free masses’ by Palestrina, i.e. its themes are not taken from any model. It combines simplicity of style with finely-wrought counterpoint to beautiful effect.

• Choral Services
• Worship Services