RACHMANINOFF | Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31
The Thirteen explores the vocal music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, following our “finely tune[d]… expert, highly responsive” (Washington Classical Review) performances of his All Night Vigil in 2023. Written five years before the Vigil, in 1910, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is a work on a yet grander scale. “Beautiful and grandly mystical… exud[ing] a spiritual force that is deeply moving and restorative” (New York Times), Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy exalts the power, beauty, and emotive range of the human voice. This concerto for choir in a symphonic palette has moved audiences for over 100 years with soaring melodies, rich harmonies, and vocal pyrotechnics.
This program is made possible by a generous gift from Charles Cerf & Cindy Dunbar and J. Penny Clark. The Thirteen’s Vocal Fellows Program is made possible by a gift from the Andrew Warnock Clarke & Martin ‘Chip’ Sherrill Family Foundation.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
BACH | The Early Masses II
Bach | Mass in A Major, BWV 234
Bach | Mass in G Minor, BWV 235
Bach | Concerto for two violins in D Major, BWV 1043
The Thirteen completes our survey of Bach’s four short masses, following our “fascinating… stirring” (Washington Classical Review) performance of The Early Masses I in 2025. The Masses in A Major and G Minor exhibit all of the mastery of the composer’s massive B Minor Mass in the form of smaller and digestible delights, written by the composer at a highpoint of his career. The Thirteen performs his two early masses featuring Baroque flute and oboe, paired with some of his finest and most beloved instrumental works.
Violinist Adriane Post join our choir of twelve soloists and our orchestra of period instrumentalists, which “buzz[es] with busy counterpoint and festive energy” (Washington Classical Review).
This program is made possible by a generous gift from Sherman & Maureen Katz.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Monteverdi Refracted
Following our comprehensive review of Monteverdi’s sacred music over five programs and two recordings hailed as “shimmering in loveliness” (MusicWeb International), The Thirteen begins an exploration of his secular music. We start with Monteverdi’s madrigal form, pairing it with near-contemporary works of the Renaissance-Baroque transition by Carlo Gesualdo and Barbara Strozzi. We present these works in conversation with secular song by contemporary composers, including Eric Whitacre, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Morton Lauridsen, and more.
This program is made possible by a generous gift from Don Picard.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Past Performances
Maurice Duruflé | Requiem, Op. 9
Frank Martin | Cantate pour le 1er Août
Palestrina | Missa Papae Marcelli
The Thirteen performs works of remembrance and celebration with Duruflé’s poignant Requiem and, in honor of the 500th anniversary of Palestrina’s birth, the composer’s most renowned work, the Missa Papae Marcelli. Palestrina’s mass represents the high point of Renaissance polyphony, with a purity of counterpoint, deeply affecting dissonance, and clear text setting—qualities that formed the basis of an enduring myth that through this work, Palestrina saved Church music. Duruflé’s 1941 Requiem, also based on Gregorian chant, was begun under the Vichy occupation but completed after the liberation of France. Paired with Swiss composer Frank Martin’s celebratory 1941 Cantate pour le 1er août (the text of which inspires this concert’s title), this concert is sure to “transfigure the listener” (The Washington Post). Princeton University organist Eric Plutz, hailed as a “master craftsman… sensitive, emotional, stunningly accurate, and spectacularly musical… world-class” (The Diapason) joins The Thirteen in this tour-de-force performance.
This program is made possible by a generous gift from Sara Fein.
Amy Broadbent, soprano
Kristen Dubenion-Smith, mezzo-soprano
Oliver Mercer, tenor
Gilbert Spencer, baritone
The Thirteen invites audiences to experience our work through the intimate configuration of a vocal quartet, with Artistic Director Matthew Robertson at the piano. The close alliance between nature and music dates to the earliest written treatises of philosophers and composers. In this concert featuring works by Barber, Brahms, Hindemith, Palestrina, and by contemporary masters, The Thirteen presents music on themes of the natural world and on nature as viewed through the kaleidoscope of love, in all its faces: divine, filial, and romantic. In what is sure to be a highlight of our 2025-2026 season, The Thirteen continues our reputation for reimagining the potential of vocal music.
This program is made possible by generous gifts from Cheryl Naulty & Walter Hill, and Stephen & Maygene Daniels.