An Update from the Palestrina500 Festival in Grand Rapids

We are very glad to share another update from the church of the Sacred Heart in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is marking the 5th centenrary of the birth of Palestrina this year with a special series of musical events, one every month.

On Friday, June 27, the feast of Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan welcomed the sacred music ensemble Floriani to sing a choral meditation and Mass for the parish’s year-long Palestrina500 festival.

Highlights from the choral meditation include:

• Dum Pater familias from the Codex Calixtinus (12th c.)
• Ave Maria by Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
• Bogoroditse Dyevo by Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
• The Magnificat quarti toni a 4 vocibus paribus by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-94)
• And two compositions by one of the members, Giorgio Navarini.

The Mass featured Palestrina’s Missa Aeterna Christi munera as well as two of his motets: one of his Salve Regina settings and his Gloriosi Principes Terrae. The celebrant was a newly ordained priest of the FSSP, Fr. Michael Caughey

On Wednesday, July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Sacred Heart welcomed The London Oratory Schola Cantorum under the direction of NLM contributor, Charles Cole.

The choral meditation consisted of:

• Haec Dies by John Sheppard (1515-58)
• Salvator Mundi (1) by Thomas Tallis (1505-85)
• Ad Te Levavi by Robert White (c1538-74)
• O Sacrum Convivium by Francisco Guerrero (1528-99)
• Versa est in Luctum by Alonso Lobo (c1555-1617)
• Ascendens Christus by Victoria
• Jubilate Deo by Giovanni Gabrieli (c1553-1612)
• In Spiritu Humilitatis by Giovanni Croce
• Magnificat octavi toni by Luca Marenzio (c1553-1599)
• O Crux Ave Spes Unica by Giovanni Animuccia (c 1500-77)
• Super Flumina and Dum Complerentur by Palestrina

The Mass featured Palestrina’s Missa Tu es Petrus, as well as his Exultate Deo and Sicut Cervus.

The Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, celebrated a Pontifical High Mass from the faldstool, proceeding into the church to Palestrina’s Ecce sacerdos magnus. His Excellency delivered a fantastic homily on polyphony and its role in both forming and saving the world.

Another Update from the Palestrina500 Festival in Grand Rapids

On Friday, April 25th, the Friday of Easter Week, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan, welcomed the world-famous Tallis Scholars to sing a choral meditation and Mass for the parish’s year-long Palestrina500 festival. The choral meditation consisted of:

• Palestrina: Missa “ut re mi fa sol la”
• Palestrina: Laudate pueri Dominum
• Lassus: Media vita in morte sumus
• Lassus: Timor et Tremor
• Palestrina: Tu es Petrus

The Mass featured the Missa Papae Marcelli as well as the maestro’s Tribulationes civitatum, and Descendi in hortum meum.

And on Thursday, May 29th, the feast of the Ascension, Sacred Heart welcomed VoxGR, a local mixed-voice professional ensemble, to sing for the festival as well. The choral meditation consisted of pieces sung by VoxGR alternating with the psalms from that evening’s Vespers, chanted by the Men’s Schola of Sacred Heart, including:

• Mendelssohn: Am Himmelfahrtstage
• Jonathan Dove: Into Thy Hands
• Manuel de Sumaya: Adjuva nos Deus
• Blake Henson: My Flight for Heaven
• Palestrina: Assumpta est Maria
• David Bednall: Assumpta est Maria
• Stephan Paulus: Splendid Jewell

The Mass featured Palestrina’s Missa Ascendo ad Patrem as well as the motet “Ascendo ad Patrem” (which the Mass parodies), and his “Surge, propera amica mea.”

On June 27, the Patronal Feast of the Sacred Heart, the parish welcomed Floriani for a Solemn High Mass celebrated by Fr. Michael Caughey, FSSP, and on July 16, the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Sacred Heart will welcome the London Oratory Schola Cantorum, under the direction of NLM contributor Charles Cole, to sing a Pontifical Mass celebrated by His Excellency, Archbishop Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco.

For the full schedule of Palestrina500 events, go to palestrina500.org

Sacred Treasures of Rome - New Album from London Oratory Schola

Sacred Treasures of Rome is a new recording from the boys of the London Oratory Schola directed by Charles Cole, and focuses on Palestrina in this, his quincentennial year, as well as other composers working in his orbit in Rome.

The London Oratory Schola is an all-boys choir with an average age of fourteen across the four voice parts. The album includes some of the great iconic motets by Palestrina such as Tu es Petrus, Sicut cervus, and Dum complerentur.

One thing which many of the composers on the disc share was a connection with St Philip Neri. In particular a motet is included by Giovanni Animuccia, who was one of St Philip’s brother priests during the early beginnings of the Oratory at San Girolamo della Carità. Much of Animuccia’s music has been lost, aside from some beautiful editions of his three masses and some motets in the Vatican Libraries. The fate of the rest is a mystery, though an ignominious legend exists that the scores were sold to a Roman cheesemonger to wrap his wares, such was the value of parchment paper at the time. Fortunately, a few motets can be found scattered across part-books, one of which, O crux ave spes unica, has been reconstructed for this recording.

The album also includes works by other composers who had connections to the Rome Oratory including Allegri, the Anerio brothers, and Giovannelli, who succeeded Palestrina.

The London Oratory Schola will be touring the USA in July and singing much of this music both in liturgical and concert contexts, including an appearance at the Palestrina500 Festival.

Sacred Treasures of Rome is released worldwide on all major platforms on July 4, 2025.

Pre-order via Amazon in the U.S. here, and in the U.K. here.

Update on the Palestrina500 Festival in Grand Rapids

On Friday, February 14th, the feast of Saint Valentine, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, MI welcomed Gesualdo Six from London to sing a choral meditation and Mass for the parish's yearlong Palestrina500 festival.

The choral meditation consisted of:

• Palestrina: Litaniae de Beata Virgine Maria a6
• Antoine Brumel: Sub tuum praesidium
• Josquin des Prez: O Virgo prudentissima
• Johannes Ockeghem: Intemerata Dei mater
• Antoine de Févin: Nesciens mater
• Jean Mouton: Ave Maria, virgo serena
• Josquin des Prez: Nymphes des bois / Requiem aeternam
• Costanzo Festa: Quis dabit oculis
• Jean L’Héritier: Sub tuum praesidium

The Mass featured the Missa Sine Nomine, as well as Palestrina’s setting of the antiphon Cantabo Domino and the Sicut Cervus.

Sacred Heart’s pastor, Fr. Ron Floyd celebrated the Missa cantata. Here’s a recap video:

And some photos:

On Tuesday, March 25th, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, MI welcomed The Hope College Chapel Choir, of Holland, MI.

The choral meditation consisted of all music by living composers, with chanted psalms from that evening’s Vespers between each piece by the Men’s Schola of Sacred Heart:

Hear Our Cry, O Lord by Ben Krause
O Radiant Dawn by James MacMillan
Halo My Path by Josh Rodriguez
Set me as a Seal by Margaret Burk
O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen
Tota pulchra es by Jonathan Bading

The Mass featured Palestrina’s Missa Brevis as well as his Jesu Rex Admirabilis, and again, the Sicut Cervus.

The series continues this Friday, April 25th, when Sacred Heart will welcome the world famous Tallis Scholars from the UK, who will be singing an hour long choral meditation at 5:00pm (*note time change) and the Missa Papae Marcelli at 7pm - a work that will acquire all the more poignancy from the moment in the Church’s life in which it will be sung.

For the full schedule of Palestrina500 events, go to palestrina500.org.

Epiphany Celebration at the Palestrina500 Festival

On Monday, January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany, the church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Grand Rapids, Michigan, welcomed Schola Antiqua of Chicago to sing a choral meditation and Mass for the second major event of the parish’s Palestrina500 festival, a year-long celebration in honor of the fifth centennial of the great composer’s birth.

The choral meditation consisted of the following works by Palestrina:

Hostis Herodes impie

Stella quam viderant

Magnificat on the 4th tone

Ave Maris Stella

Vergine Bella

Vergine Chiara

Miserere, Mei Deus

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary M à 6

Sicut Cervus

as well as a Spanish carol by Guerrero, Me fe, vengo de Belén.

The Mass featured the Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater, as well as Palestrina’s setting of the Offertory antiphon Reges Tharsis, and his equal voice setting of the aforementioned Marian antiphon.

On Friday, February 14, Sacred Heart will welcome The Gesualdo Six, who will sing an hour long choral meditation at 5:30pm, and the Missa Sine Nomine for the feast of St. Valentine at 7pm. For the full schedule of Palestrina500 events, go to palestrina500.org.

Tradition is for the young.

Year-long Palestrina500 Festival Formally Opens with Pontifical Mass

On Monday, December 9th, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan kicked off their year-long festival, Palestrina500, with a Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Grand Rapids and sung by the parish’s choirs.

The Most Reverend David Walkowiak celebrated a Novus Ordo Mass concelebrated by the parish’s pastor, Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd, STL, pastors emeriti Fr. Robert Sirico and Fr. Donald Lomasiewicz, and priest-in-residence Fr. John Bosco Ssekkomo, and assisted by two deacons, the Rev’d Mr. Robert McClintic and the Rev’d Mr. Richard Fish. Almost 600 of the faithful were present, leaving standing room only.

The choral ensemble consisted of two combined choirs: the volunteer Sacred Heart parish choir and Gaudete Grand Rapids, a semi-professional choir of 16 voices. Both choirs were conducted by Mr. Jonathan Bading, the director of music.

Gaudete sang the Kyrie, Gloria, and Agnus Dei from Palestrina’s Missa de Beata Virgine à 4, which they will sing in its entirety for the September 15th Palestrina500 event. They also sang the “Ave Maria à 5” for the Offertory. The parish choir joined them for the Magnificat primi toni à 4 at communion and the composer’s perennial setting of the Alma Redemptoris Mater at the conclusion of Mass, with Gaudete singing the Choir II portion from the triforum of the church.

This Monday, January 6th, Sacred Heart will welcome its first visiting choir, Schola Antiqua of Chicago, who will be singing an hour-long choral meditation at 5:30pm and the Missa Alma Redemptoris Mater for the Solemn Mass of the Epiphany at 7pm. For the full schedule of Palestrina500 events, go to palestrina500.org.

Some video footage: recap/Kyrie from the Missa de Beata Virgine:

Magnificat primi toni à 4: