Repertoire

At St. Barnabas our choir draws from a diverse repertoire that includes both ancient and modern musical traditions, including the following:

Hymnal: The New English Hymnal, publ. 1986
Psalm Settings: The Canadian Psalter, publ. 1963; The Plainsong Psalter, publ. 1988
Introits and Alleluias: Taken from The English Gradual (Part II)

Mass Settings:

John Taverner (1490-1545)
Thomas Tallis (c. 1505-1585)
G.P. da Palestrina (1526-1594)
Orlando di Lasso (1530-1594)
T.L. di Victoria (1548-1611)
Lodovico Viadana (c. 1560-1627)
Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)
Claudio Casciolini (1697-1760)
Charles Wood (1866-1926)
Healey Willan (1880-1968)
Harold Darke (1888-1976)
Herbert Sumsion (1899-1995)
Walter MacNutt (1910-1996)
Frances Jackson (1917- )
Peter Aston (1938- )

Pictured on the right: Thomas Tallis, English composer.

Maria Eduarda Mendes Martins (2015):

Maria Eduardo Mendes Martins' reflection on the creation of her Mass: "In a conversation in May of 2015, Fr. Travis O’ Brian asked me if I would like to write a Mass for St. Barnabas Church; I accepted the project immediately, and with much joy. Initially, the Mass to St. Barnabas was meant to be an eventful work, to celebrate the 125th birthday of St. Barnabas parish, but because of the introspective character that the music had since its conception—since the very first measures I wrote—Fr. Travis and I figured that the Mass would suit properly the Lent season (which would also give the choir more time to rehearse). Technically, my idea for this particular Mass was to relate the physical vibrations inherent to each sound, and to every piece of music we hear, to the emotional content of the texts from the ordinary mass, in which the Mass seems to feel more peaceful as it approaches the last phrase—“Dona nobis pacem”—of the last text: Agnus Dei."

Motets:

Each Sunday the choir sings a different mass, motet and Psalm setting. The masses and motets are from diverse musical styles with the bulk of the repertoire from the 16th and 17th century composers. Most of the music is sung in the a capella repertoire tradition with occasional pieces with organ accompaniment.