(ANS - Moscow)- The Pontifical Choir of the Sistine Chapel, under the direction of its Maestro Fr Massimo Palombella SDB, is in Russia at present to perform with the Synod Choir of the Moscow Patriarchate.  The two choirs will perform together again in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on June 29  at the Mass celebrated by the Holy Father on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

This trip follows the path of the ecumenical project already undertaken by the Sistine College Choir.  On the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul in 2012, they were joined by the Anglican Choir of Westminster Abbey, and in 2013 by TomanerChor, the Lutheran Choir of Leipzig.

The programme for the trip to Moscow is as follows:

1. On Sunday, 25 May 2014, the Sistine Choir gave a concert called Spiritual Elevation in the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow with pieces from Celebrations of the Liturgical Year. The programme included: Nos autem (Gregorian), Ad te levavi (Palestrina), Gloria from the Missa Papae Marcelli (Palestrina), Benedictus (Perosi), Improperium, (Lasso) Christus factus est (Gregorian), Popule meus (Palestrina), Stabat Mater (Palestrina), Credo from the Missa Papae Marcelli (Palestrina). The concert was organized by the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Moscow.

2. In the morning of Monday 26 May, the Sistine Chapel Choir and the Choir of the Moscow Patriarchate practised together for the celebration of 29 June. In the evening, the Sistine Chapel Choir conducted by Maestro Palombella,  and the Moscow Synodal Choir conducted by Maestro Alexei Puzakov, gave a concert of sacred music from the Orthodox and Catholic traditions in the Palace of the Armoury in the Kremlin in Moscow. This concert was organized by the Moscow Patriarchate.

3 . This evening, Tuesday 27 May, in the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory there will be a concert of Sacred Music to mark the fifth anniversary of the inauguration of Patriarch Cyril. The concert, organized by the Moscow Patriarchate, will be given by the Sistine Chapel Choir and the Moscow Synodal Choir.

The Synod Choir of the Patriarchate of Moscow will be in Rome on 28-29 June to perform with the Sistine Chapel Choir at a concert called Ut unum sint, with traditional music from the two lungs of the Church.

Published 27/05/2014