Divine Vespers

Greg loves Baroque music and was thrilled to discover that Boston Baroque was performing the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 on Saturday evening (March 6).  This was the first performance by Boston Baroque in New York City in 25 years and they were celebrating the 400th anniversary of this piece.  Other "early music" groups plan to also perform the Monteverdi Vespers this year.  These are orchestras that use replicas of the unusual instruments that were popular in the Baroque period and being able to see a live concert is a unique experience. (Of course my Cornell friends are spoiled because Malcolm Bilson will frequently conduct "early" chamber music recitals.  But a full orchestra and chorus is a real treat.)  I've linked us to the New York Times review of the piece if you care to learn more, or you can hear a recording from another group.  I think Greg and I love this music because it reinforces our Catholic traditions and we can imagine ourselves worshipping in St. Mark's in Venice 400 years ago, referring to a liturgy that we know and love.

The performance took place at the magnificent Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Columbia's campus. That is Greg walking up the aisle to our seats in the nave in the photo above.   This is the largest cathedral in the world, and like the great cathedral's of Europe it is still a work in progress even though the cornerstone was laid in 1892 because they are using traditional Gothic engineering and construction.  It's hard to find a good stonemason these days!  I remember going to the St. John the Divine when I was 12 and taking a tour of the massive bell tower.  When they mentioned the bells would chime in 5 minutes, I took one look at them and at the height we were at and I panicked and quickly hightailed it downstairs.  My family knows I was a pretty plucky 12 year old, so this fear was in response to the massive size of the towers and bells.  We really enjoyed our first trek up to Columbia and will return in a few weeks during the day time to see the campus.