Masterworks Concert to Feature Haydn Mass

Franz Joseph Haydn’s dramatic Mass, “Missa in tempore belli,” will be performed by the Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers at the fourth annual Choral Masterworks Concert, 8 p.m. March 5 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State St. in downtown Santa Barbara.

Admission is a suggested donation of $7 for students and seniors and $10 for general audience.

Associate Music Professor Grey Brothers will direct the choirs in “Missa in tempore belli (Paukenmesse),” or Mass in Time of War (Kettledrum Mass), and the premiere of composer and Associate Music Professor Steve Butler’s “Psalm 50.”

“Missa in tempore belli” was composed in 1796, as Napoleon's troops approached Vienna. Its nickname, Paukenmesse, stems from the prominent timpani part in the final movement. The “Missa in tempore belli,” one of Haydn's late great Masses, is a dramatic work, with periods of darkness relieved by effusions of joy. The performance of the Mass will be complemented by two brief compositions for organ from Haydn's time.

Both works will be accompanied by an orchestra of Westmont students augmented by community players. Organist David Gell will be featured in Butler's “Psalm 50” and in two late 18th-century works for organ solo, Brothers said.

Butler's “Psalm 50,” for two choirs, organ and orchestra, is a setting of the penitential psalm of David numbered 51 in the King James Bible. The piece was composed specifically for this performance, Brothers explained.

For more information, contact the music department at (805) 565-7040 or the public affairs office at 565-7057, or e-mail pubaffairs@westmont.edu. For directions to campus, visit the college Web site at www.westmont.edu.