CHOIR OF ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA

• Eric Whitacre: i thank You God

“one of the finest professional/amateur groups in the country (amateur because they are a church choir that sings the majority of the services offered there, and professional because the individuals are all soloists and professional singers in their own right) has long been known for breadth of repertory and high craftsmanship…Cool of the Day…is a real gem… The choir is able to turn on a dime in the variety, often extreme variety, of the music offered here, and its emotional commitment never flags no matter what piece it is singing. I was really enraptured through this whole recital, and for those who like spiritually oriented music this is heaven indeed. All others might just find themselves converting, so be careful. Bravo to all concerned.”

Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition [February 2014]

“beautifully sung by excellent soloists … The singers are exact in their intonation and their harmonies are delectable. The total effect makes you think you are in one of the famous cathedrals of Europe… the second half of the disc consists of relatively modern music and the singers perform it with panache. When you listen, you do feel that you are there, enjoying the respite from crowds and noise that a church provides in the city. “

Maria Nockin, Fanfare Issue 35:5 [May/June 2012]

“When the choir of St. Ignatius Loyola sings ‘Thou, light in the heavens, brighter than the sun, awaken in me!’ from Richard Strauss’s German Motet it rings true. It is thrilling. Sincerity seems to be the most pivotal element here, and it is an ore that requires much refining before it can carry the emotional power of Rückert’s words. Here these requirements—beautiful disciplined voices, clear diction, precise intonation, homogeneous ensemble, an arching legato line, and solid rhythmic direction—are met in full, with the happy result of a monumental work stunningly performed, captured and preserved on disc… I know of no other recording that matches the depth and beauty and of these performances. Recording engineer Les Wojcik has perfectly captured the sound ambience of St. Ignatius Church.”

Raymond Beegle, Fanfare Issue 35:5 [May/June 2012]

"...you can tell from the organically burgeoning firsrt crescendo in Bruckner's 'Os justi' that these singers react quickly and fully to interpretive expectations. Tuning is superb, the blend between the parts warm and natural. This is also a choir that never allows technical excellence to squeeze out emotion... [an] excellent recital."

[ * * * * ] Terry Blain, BBC Music [April 2012]

 
The Choir of Saint Ignatius Loyola, featured in the Sacred Music in a SacredSpace concert series at the Church of St.Ignatius Loyola, is comprised of New York’s finest professional choral singers. Each member of the choir is a soloist in his or her own right in a variety of genres, including early music, opera, oratorio and contemporary repertoire. The core group sings a demanding schedule of weekly parish worship services in a wide range of repertoire, with particular emphasis on new works, the sacred Renaissance repertoire and Gregorian chant. The Choir, heard in recordings on the MSR Classics and AMDG labels, was invited in 2006 to be the headline chorus at the Southwestern American Choral Directors Association convention in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2009, they performed in the opening festival of WNYC radio’s Jerome L. Greene Performance Space on a concert bill with René Pape, John Zorn and Ute Lemper.

Kent Tritle is one of America’s leading choral conductors. He is founder of Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, the acclaimed concert series at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York; Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York and of Musica Sacra; Director of Choral Activities at the Manhattan
School of Music; and a member of the graduate faculty of The Juilliard School. An acclaimed organ virtuoso, Tritle is also the organist of the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra. In his 22 years of presenting concerts on the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series, Mr. Tritle conducted the Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola in a broad repertoire of sacred works,
from Renaissance masses and oratorio masterworks to premieres by notable living composers. As
the Director of Music Ministries at St. Ignatius Loyola, Tritle directed a program that annually produces more than 400 liturgies with music. In his tenure there from 1989-2011, he led the church’s professional choir in critically acclaimed performances and developed the 50-voice volunteer Parish Community Choir. Kent Tritle has made more than a dozen recordings on the Telarc, AMDG, Epiphany, Gothic, VAI and MSR Classics labels, many of which have received high praise in Gramophone, American Record Guide and The Choral Journal. Mr. Tritle holds degrees from The Juilliard School in organ performance and choral conducting and has been on the Juilliard faculty since 1996. He is currently teaching choral conducting, and directing a graduate practicum on oratorio in collaboration with the school’s Vocal Arts Department. [www.KentTritle.com]

Robert Reuter, conductor, singer, pianist and organist, serves as Associate Musician at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City where he contributes to and shapes the church’s vibrant liturgical music program. Since joining the music staff in 2007, Robert has worked with all of the church’s professional and volunteer ensembles. In the 2009-2010 season, he made his Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series debut at St. Ignatius, conducting the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola, Parish Community Choir, High School Choir and St. Ignatius Brass Ensemble on Giovanni Gabrieli’s much beloved O Magnum Mysterium in the series’ annual Christmas Concerts. The following 2010-2011 season, Robert conducted the New York Premiere of Cecilia McDowall’s Christus Natus Est at the Christmas Concerts, as well as an all a cappella concert with Maestro Kent Tritle. As a singer, Robert has sung with numerous choruses on both the west and east coasts, and currently sings with the all-professional Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola. Recently, he sang with members of nine New York choruses in a live radio broadcast of The Choral Mix with Kent Tritle on New York City’s WQXR. Robert’s liturgical responsibilities include leading the music at the weekly Sunday evening 7:30 liturgies, directing and accompanying the Canticum Sacrum choir. Additionally, he directs the music at many of the church’s major Christmas, Holy Week and Easter services. Along with his colleague Michael Sheetz, Robert co-directs the church’s 50-member Parish Community Choir, providing music at numerous liturgies and concerts throughout the year. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Robert served as choir director, accompanist and cantor at St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Parish in San José, California for seven years. For six years, he accompanied the Santa Clara University Mission Choir in Santa Clara, California. He began his involvement in music ministry at a young age, and is an alumni of Music Ministry Alive!, a summer school and festival for young liturgical musicians founded and directed by composer David Haas. Robert holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Santa Clara University.
  Traditional | Arranged by Alice Parker (b.1925) and Robert Shaw (1916-1990)
Wondrous Love

Traditional | Arranged by Alice Parker
Hark, I hear the harps eternal

ANTON BRUCKNER (1824-1896) | From Psalm 37:30-31
Os Justi

Gregorian Chant | Psalm 105:4-5
Memento nostri, Domine

OTTO NICOLAI (1810-1849) | The Lord’s Prayer
Pater Noster, Op. 33

PABLO CASALS (1876-1973) | From Lamentations 1:12
O Vos Omnes

ANTONIO LOTTI (c.1667-1740)
Crucifixus

GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA (1524-1594) | Isaiah 60:1-3
Surge, Illuminare Jerusalem

Gregorian Chant | Isaiah 48:20; Psalm 66:1-2
Vocem iucunditatis annuntiate

JOHANNES SOMARY (1935-2011) | Psalm 121
I Lift Up My Eyes

DAVID HILL (b.1957) | From Psalm 27
Dominus Illuminatio

DAVID C. DICKAU (b.1953) | Hymn for the Feast of the Transfiguration
O Nata Lux

ERIC WHITACRE (b.1970)
hope, faith, life, love

ERIC WHITACRE | e.e. cummings (1894-1962)
i thank You God for most this amazing day

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949) | Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)
Deutsche Motette, Op. 62

JEAN RITCHIE (b.1922) | Arranged by Peter and Jon Pickow; Adapted by James Erb
Now is the cool of the day

from Three Spirituals | Arranged by K. Scott Warren (b.1971)
Ain’a That Good News
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child

WILLIAM L. DAWSON (1899-1990)
Soon ah will be done
 



MSR Classics