Our 2025-2026 season!
Shir Hama'aloth: Psalms of Ascent
Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.
Rainbow Mennonite Church
Hail Bright Cecilia: A Purcellian Feast
Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral
Celebrating America's Hidden Musical Heroes
Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
Immanuel Lutheran Church at 42nd & Tracy Ave
Shir Hama'aloth
Psalms of Ascent
Jay Carter and Ryan Olsen, conductors
Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Rainbow Mennonite Church
1444 Southwest Blvd
Kansas City, KS
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This is a free concert and no tickets are required.
Donations welcome!
Jerusalem's temple was the focal point of Jewish pilgrimages, until its destruction in 70 C.E. One’s final ascent up the Temple Mount was marked with a pause at each of the last fifteen steps to sing a specifically prescribed Psalm, each beginning with the phrase Shir hama'aloth, or “A song of ascent." Centuries later, these same texts became essential parts of the European, Christian musical tradition and inspired some of the most memorable works by leading composers. Despite a shared scriptural heritage, Jewish and Christian musical traditions have often remained separated by imagined barriers and the long shadow of antisemitism—though in a few fleeting moments artistic endeavors allowed for connection.
The northern Italian city of Mantua was one musical exception to the rule, housing a large Jewish population that was essential to the artistic infrastructure of one of the Renaissance’s most vibrant ruling cities. One of the most prominent and long-serving artists at the Gonzagan court was the Jewish composer Salamone Rossi, a colleague and contemporary of Claudio Monteverdi. Alongside numerous madrigals, stage works, and instrumental sonatas, Rossi composed Hebrew-language choral works that incorporated the latest musical styles into Jewish liturgy. His works were published in a cheekily titled 1623 publication, Ha'shirim asher li-Shlomo, or “The Songs of Solomon,” the first published collection of choral music for use in synagogues.
This concert highlights several of Rossi's extraordinary works alongside others by Catholic and Protestant composers exploring the Psalms of Ascent. Rossi’s Hebrew-language settings are presented along with psalms by his Catholic colleague Monteverdi (from his Vespers of 1610) and others by two giants from the realm of Protestant music: Henry Purcell and J.S. Bach (Aus der Tiefen, rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131). The result is a rare meeting of traditions and a musical pilgrimage toward understanding.
Psalm 126: Nisi Dominus
Monteverdi
Psalm 128: Ashrei kol yere Adonai
Rossi
Psalm 128: Beati omnes qui timent Dominum, z. 131
Purcell
Psalm 130: Aus der tiefen, BWV 131
J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
Program
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Psalm 3: Jehovah, quam multi sunt hostes mei, z. 135
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Psalm 121: Esa einai
Salamone Rossi (1570-1630)
Psalm 122: Laetatus Sum
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Psalm 124: Lulei Adonai
Rossi
Hail Bright Cecilia
A Purcellian Feast
Musica Vocale with members of the Kansas City Baroque Consortium
Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral
415 W 13th St, Kansas City, MO
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This concert made possible in part with a generous gift from M. Wayne Alexander & John W. Braum.
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This is a free concert and no tickets are required.
Donations welcome!
Though he died in 1695 at the young age of 36, Henry Purcell’s musical influence and remarkable gift for musically depicting English poetry have resonated for centuries after his death. In his lifetime, he simultaneously held positions at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, while also serving the courts of Charles II, James II, and William and Mary. Even today, Purcell’s celebratory works remain an important part of coronations and other festive occasions. His semi-opera Dido and Aeneas is presented by both professional and academic organizations with impressive regularity.
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Ironically, smaller scale works have largely overshadowed the music for which Purcell was most acclaimed in his lifetime—his many odes for royal events, feast days, and other festive occasions. Among these, his 1692 ode Hail, Bright Cecilia is certainly the grandest, and showcases Purcell’s skill at conveying complex musical and poetic ideas with disarming ease and conversational naturalness. It is a perfect musical illumination of the text by his contemporaries Nicholas Brady and John Dryden. Notably, the work has never been presented in its entirety in Kansas City.
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Bookending the ode are two works written for other regal ceremonies. I was glad when they said unto me was written for the coronation of James II in 1685, and was the favored version for English coronations until it was displaced by C.H.H Parry’s 1905 setting. The anthem Rejoice in the Lord, Alway was written for the opulent Chapel Royal where English monarchs worshipped at a time when expressive instrumental interludes, florid vocal solos, and jubilant choral passages were the favored musical style. Rejoice… was quickly nicknamed “The Bell Anthem” in reference to a recurring melody played by the instruments that precisely mimics the celebratory pealing of church bells.
Program
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I was Glad when they said unto me, z. 19
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Hail, Bright Cecilia, z. 328
Purcell
Voluntary in D, z. 718
Purcell
The Bell Anthem: Rejoice in the Lord Alway, z. 49
Purcell
Celebrating America's Hidden Musical Heroes
Musica Vocale with members of the Kansas City Baroque Consortium
Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Immanuel Lutheran Church
4205 Tracy Avenue, Kansas City, MO
This is a free concert and no tickets are required.
Donations welcome!
While our complex American identity includes the full array genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, religions, and national origins, the Classical music and Choral music of America has often been dominated by music that is male, white, straight, Christian, and European in scope. Past history repeatedly shows that Classical music and Choral music can grow to be more inclusive, and both fields are always better off for having made not just a place at the current table, but building a bigger table in the future. As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, Musica Vocale reaffirms its commitment to presenting overlooked works vital to our nation’s musical tradition—celebrating American music by composers whose identities are often the basis of exclusion and discrimination.
While the public presentation of music by composers who are women is no longer a novel exception to a male norm, it is still evident that equity is an ongoing struggle. A series of works by pioneering, female Americans highlights the exceptional contributions made by Patricia VanNess, Gwyneth Walker, and Kansas City natives Jean Belmont, and Emma Lou Diemer.
The essential influence of music from Black traditions is undeniable in America’s music, a fact keenly highlighted over a century ago by the European composer Antonin DvoÅ™ak. While sacred music from the Spiritual and Gospel tradition is now widely celebrated and performed, the original music of Black Americans is often glossed over. Several original works by Margaret Bonds, Nathaniel Dett, Adolphus Hailstork, and Undine Smith Moore mark the contributions to our American musical identity beyond the undeniably important Spiritual tradition.
The rich musical traditions of Indigenous Americans have far too little attention within the Classical music community, but in the few years since Raven Chacon was awarded the 2022 Pulitzer for his work Voiceless Mass, awareness of contemporary Native American composers has grown somewhat. New works by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and Linthicum Blackhorse are also being premiered across North America, and a host of additional Native American composers are among today’s leading composers of new choral works.
Contrasting with Americans whose ancestors predated the arrival of European colonizers are those who are the newest arrivals to the United States. They come from across the planet for myriad reasons, from escaping persecution to pursuing economic stability, but bring with them the seeds of where America’s music will evolve in the next 250 years.
Program
Works TBD