Musica Sacra Performs Masterworks by Handel, Schubert

The Musica Sacra Chorus and Orchestra will open its 24th season with choral masterworks by George Frideric Handel and Franz Peter Schubert at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19, in St. Francis Xavier Church, at 52nd and Troost Avenue, west of Rockhurst University.

The ensemble will perform the last of the 11 Chandos Anthems, Let God Arise, a setting of textual excerpts from Psalms 68 and 76 as employed in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Handel composed these 11 large-scale anthems while serving as resident composer at Cannons, the home of the Duke of Chandos, from 1717-1718. The anthem features Handel’s rich choral writing and occasional musical imagery.

Additionally, Musica Sacra will perform Schubert’s Mass in C, composed in the summer of 1816. The orchestral scoring features strings, oboes, trumpets and timpani and demonstrates the lyricism, excitement and emotional depth of the 19-year-old composer.

Music Director Timothy McDonald will present Live Program Notes at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students and senior citizens. For tickets, call the Central Ticket Office at 816-235-6222, visit rockhurst.edu/mstickets or purchase at the performance. Parking is free at the church and at 51st and Troost in Rockhurst’s North Parking Garage.