17 May 2023
On 27 April 2023, the schola of Benedictine monks of Sant’Anselmo, led by maestro P. David Foster OSB, and the Byzantine choir “Psalterion” from Greece, under the direction of maestro Mr. Christos Vattis, performed hymns of the Resurrection of the Lord and of the Divine Liturgy.
The audience, among them more than 30 ambassadors to the Holy See, enjoyed a true Easter program. As in the Bible every apparition of the Risen Lord is told as an encounter, so one could enjoy the encounter of two different musical traditions: the Gregorian and the Byzantine, the Western and the Eastern. It was an attempt to make audible the idea that these traditions, as different as they are, speak of the same mystery. It is the same God they glorify. And yet, its expressions are very different: polyphonic/monophonic, in different tonalities, with different kinds of voices. It seemed almost as if one needed different ears in each case.
The high point of the evening was the “Hagios ho Theos, Sanctus Deus,” in which both scholas sang their own parts in their respective languages in one and the same piece of liturgical music.
The program was sponsored by Sant’Anselmo Abbey and its Prior, Mauritius Wilde OSB, and the Greek Embassy to the Holy See, with her Excellency, Mrs. Aikaterini Katia Georgiou.
Altre Notizie
Research on the opening prayers of Mass and on arranging a church was featured in the presentation of two volumes at the Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’Anselmo on 23 March 2022. Photos, video and story here.
To celebrate the Solemnity of the Transitus of Saint Benedict, the Sant’Anselmo community was pleased to welcome S.E. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis to preside over the Mass and to join us for our festive lunch. Photos and story here.
On 19 March, H.E. Msgr. Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal household, ordained three Collegio residents, Gregorio Carrizal, OSB, Gregorio Vega, OSB, and Placido Schinagl, OSB, into the diaconate. Story and photos here.
