Handel Dixit Dominus & Gjeilo Sunrise Mass

A concert of intricacy, warmth, drama and brilliance.

Masterworks’ 56th Season begins with the extraordinary Dixit Dominus by George Frideric Handel. Full of youthful energy, the piece is a true tour de force for chorus and orchestra. Employing brilliant contrasts between and within movements, the piece conveys all the passion and power of the text and is widely considered to be the Baroque composer’s first masterwork.

The hauntingly ethereal Sunrise Mass by Norwegian-American composer Ola Gjeilo traces the delicate transition from night to day. Subtle harmonic shifts in the 8-part choral texture evoke an expectant, hushed dusk, and then a kaleidoscope of shimmering textures and propulsive rhythms carry us into the emerging daylight.

Two works by Mozart round out the program: the graceful and sublime melody of Laudate dominum, and the crystalline compactness of his very last work, Ave verum corpus.