This Sunday at the National Shrine

Tomorrow is the end of the liturgical season of ordinary time in the Catholic year, and next Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. This last Sunday of ordinary time is now designated as the feast of Christ the King (instituted by Pope Pius XI: see his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor of 1928), and the choir of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception here in Washington, D.C., will be performing the following music:

• Gerald Near, Communion Service
• Ned Rorem, Praise the Lord, My Soul (1982, text of psalm 146)
• Sidney Campbell, Sing We Merrily unto God our Strength
• Luca Marenzio, Jubilate Deo (à 8)
• Claudio Monteverdi, Cantate Domino (à 6)

We will also be performing for the annual Christmas Concert for Charity at the National Shrine on Friday, December 5, at 8 pm, with the orchestra and choruses of The Catholic University of America. Our part of the program will feature some of the pieces from our forthcoming compact disc (Carols at the Crèche, from Gothic Records), including the Five Carols of Richard Rodney Bennett and pieces by Fink, Mulet, Korte, and Billings. We will also perform the 12-part motet Beata es virgo Maria by Vincenzo Ugolini (see my post on July 25).